


The Slayer and The Scotsman

by Sarbear312



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Adventure, Buffy in the past, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, F/M, Rare Pairings, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 05:08:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 60,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26770000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarbear312/pseuds/Sarbear312
Summary: She hadn’t given much thought to what would actually happen to her when she had jumped into that portal. A peaceful sleep perhaps. A final “The End” to the morbid fairytale that was her life. Ending up in a grassy field surrounded by men in red coats in England of all places in 1762 was definitely not a possibility that she had thought of.
Relationships: Angel/Buffy Summers, Buffy Summers/Jamie Fraser, Buffy Summers/Lord John Grey(friendship), Claire Beauchamp/Jamie Fraser
Comments: 56
Kudos: 72





	1. Prologue

“Hey, it’s me. I just... I was just wanting to... “ 

She paused and took a deep breath.

”Look, I’m sorry for how we left things, I know that you have your life in LA and I can’t just expect you to drop everything for me. I guess I was just so happy that you and I finally had a real chance to be partners, to make decisions TOGETHER. And when you decided to just go after Cordelia without even considering how I felt about it....It just, it made me feel like I was in that sewer all over again with you making decisions for me, for us. I know that you were just doing what you thought was best, but God, Angel! Why can’t you see that I love you just as much as you love me and I don’t want you getting hurt and I’m sorry if you going to a hell dimension to save Cordelia of all people rubbed me the wrong way and I ......I’m sorry.”

She let out a little laugh. “This was supposed to be an apology....I’m not angry at you anymore, I just want you to be safe and I...” she stopped and took another breath to compose herself.

“Angel. Things here are not... Glory. She has Dawn and I think, I think that I.....I’m not going to win this time, don’t ask me how I know. I have fought so many battles, have been in this same position dozens of times, but I always knew. I just KNEW that I would win, but this time” her voice was getting quieter and quieter with her confession,  
“ This time is different and I would give anything to have you by my side. But I don’t blame you, please never think that. You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t put everyone else ahead of yourself, if you weren’t so much of a damn hero. God, I love you for it. I love you so much Angel, these last couple of years of not being able to tell you that has made me feel so stifled, but just saying it, just knowing that I can now. That WE can love each other, it gives me hope when I have none left.”  
“Buffy! It’s time.” The voice of her dear watcher interrupted her.  
She let out a long frustrated sigh.  
“ I have to go. I am sorry for the Buffy babble, I just couldn’t leave things like that. You’re my heart Angel, the other half of my soul. Nothing that happens next will change that. I love you my Angel, see you on the other side.”

——————————————-

But she didn’t see him, it had been 467 days since she left that message on his machine. She never knew if he actually got it, sometimes she hoped that he didn’t because she knew it would bring him guilt, more than he already had, but other times it comforted her to know that he knew how she truly felt. 

A few months before, Angel had come to her after her mother’s funeral. He was her rock that she sorely needed to lean on. She had kissed him out of selfish need and to her surprise he kissed her back with just as much passion, if not more. He usually shied away from her whenever things became too intimate, not wanting to get too close. For if they did, if they gave into the temptation of one another, Angel would lose his soul and release his evil counterpart into the world. 

It had happened before, on her 17th birthday. They had made love for the first time after Angel confessed his true feelings to her. It was perfect. Angel was sweet and gentle towards her, trying to make her as comfortable as possible and show her all of the pleasure he had dreamed of giving her. Afterward he had held her tightly in his arms, whispering to her in Gaelic, his native language. 

“Tá mo chroí istigh ionat.” “Mo chuid den tsaol” “Mo chéadsearc”

She didn’t understand a word of it but she could FEEL the meaning of what he was saying. She could feel how much he cared for her, how much that night meant to him. She had fallen asleep in the cocoon of his arms, feeling safer than she had ever felt in her life. When she woke up the next morning, there was nothing but a cold pillow next to her and a foreboding energy in the air. 

She had no clue that their night together had caused Angel to lose his soul, to become Angelus, an evil son of a bitch who had caused nothing but death and terror in his hay day. The Scourge of Europe, they had called him. He killed, tortured, raped, destroyed anything that was light and pure for years and years. Until he had killed the wrong girl. 

A young gypsy that was part of a mystical clan who was hellbent on revenge when they discovered her young, cold body in the woods, Angelus bending over her covered in her blood. The gypsies had cursed him then. Gave him back his soul to make him FEEL the weight of what he had done for over a hundred of years. To make him feel the pain and the heartbreak of every one of his victims. It was entirely unfair to torture the soul for what the demon had done. Buffy had tried to convince Angel of that, but he never listened to her, he had accepted his guilt a long time ago. Had accepted to carry all of those ghosts on his back for the rest of his life. He had carried on for over a hundred years, a tortured soul trying to hide from anything that reminded him of his past. From humanity. He stayed in alleys, feeding off of rats, cursing his own existence. 

Then he had come to Sunnydale with a little push from the powers that be in the form of a demon messenger and found Buffy. He could feel his soul calling out to her the moment they met. He had tried to resist her. Tried to protect her lightness from his darkness, but the more time he spent with her, the more love he had in his heart for her and he couldn’t stay away any longer. He would have if he knew.

If he knew that when the Gypsies had cursed him with his soul, they had added a secret clause. If the soul were ever to experience true happiness, true peace, then it would be freed and the demon would come back and take his place. If he knew about the clause, he would have stayed away, he would have suffered without her. Would have tortured himself, staying in the shadows, not talking to her, not touching her, not hearing her say his name. But it wouldn’t have mattered as long as she was safe. But he didn’t know and being with Buffy that night had brought him more joy and inner peace than he could have imagined. 

So the morning after her birthday, he was gone, leaving his demon to torture his soulmate for months on end. Taunting her, her friends, even killing them, just to play with her. He wouldn’t have wished that sort of torment on his worst enemy. Let alone the love of his life. 

After it was over and he was back in his body, back to himself. He tried to push her away. She tried to push him away. But it was so hard to ignore their feelings, their connection to another. They tried to be together again, to make it work. But the threat of Angelus had continuously loomed over their heads. The most touching they did was hold hands and lingering hugs, a brief kiss here and there. But they could never do anything more, their passion would always bubble up to the surface, causing them to crash into one another gripping each other with a fierce hold. Until one of them would have to pull away so that they wouldn’t go too far. So that their need for one another didn’t take over their rational thoughts. 

But something was different that night of her mother’s funeral.

She had pushed him away with extreme difficulty, wanting nothing more than to pull him close to her and beg him to take her right there but she had to know what was different. 

His soul. It was permanent. He had just found out days before and was planning on calling her but then he had found out about her mother and was more concerned about her well being than anything else. She was in such a shock. Angel was here, kissing her and they could be together, like together, together. She hated to admit it out loud but she had squealed like a ridiculous teenager and flung herself at him. He had caught her easily, laughing with joy at her reaction. She had never heard Angel laugh like that in her life, it was a beautiful sound. She wanted him more than ever in that moment. She wanted to feel him inside of her, filling her with everything she needed. She kissed him with a fierce desire pulling him close to her slipping her hands under his jacket. It was then that Angel gently pushed her back.

“ Easy mo chroí. I want this just much as you do but I know this isn’t an easy time for you and I don’t want it to be like this. Not a quick fling in the graveyard. Taking you like an animal next to your mother’s grave.... I want to do it right this time mo cuishlel. I want to be proper, I want to court you. We haven’t been a part of each other’s lives in a long time and I want to change that. I know it won’t be easy with you living here and me in LA but I want this Buffy, I’m tired of fighting my love for you, I’m tired of missing you. I want to make this work, for real.”

She was speechless. At first she was hurt by the rejection, but his admission of love and wanting to court her was just so damn Angel of him, that she couldn’t fault him for it. And he was right, they weren’t a part of each other’s lives anymore, they hardly knew each other in all honesty. So she had agreed to take things slow and to ease back into each other’s life.

And they had. Since they had both left the graveyard that night with a little more hope in their heart than they had when they had entered. They had talked on the phone at least a few times a week. Talked about their days, their dreams, their hopes, their future. They had both even visited the other a few times. Angel taking her out to eat, the movies, even the bowling alley one night. You would think Angel in a pair of bowling shoes would make him look ridiculous but he had somehow looked even sexier in them. They still hadn’t made love, they had come close a few times but one of them always ended up pulling away. Buffy for the irrational fear of him finally having her and deciding that he actually didn’t want her. And Angel for the fear of maybe his soul wasn’t really bound, maybe it was all a trick somehow and if he had released Angelus onto Buffy, he could never forgive himself. 

But despite their fears, things were going well. It was like they were falling in love with each other all over again and this time, it was real and it was going to last. 

But then Glory happened. She was after a damned key to a hell dimension that she called her home. And Buffy just happened to be in possession of said key in the form of her 14 year old sister. Normally Buffy would have been able to protect her sister from a demon, but Glory wasn’t a demon, she was a hell god intent on getting her key no matter who she had to kill. She had reaped havoc on Buffy and her family for months. Buffy had felt like she was coming apart at the seams. Having Angel back in her life had helped, but it couldn’t eliminate the threat of the hell god hanging above her head night and day.

Something was coming, Buffy could feel it. She had gone to LA that weekend seeking comfort in her handsome vampire boyfriend. But he was having a crisis of his own. Cordelia had had a vision of a girl that had gone missing years before and it had sent them on a wild goose chase that had ended with Cordelia being sucked into a portal that lead to God knows where. Buffy had immediately jumped in and helped with research and helped Angel beat up any goons for intel.

Eventually they had found out where the portal lead to and Angel was ready to jump right in to rescue Cordelia. Buffy wanted to help Cordelia of course but having the love of her life just throw himself into a dangerous ball of light wasn’t really ideal.

“Angel! Please think about this! What if you end up in a field of sunlight and boom, you burst into flames and you wont be able help anybody!”  
“ Buffy, I understand where you’re coming from, but I can’t just leave her there! It’s my fault she’s there, I have to get her back.”  
“ I know, I know, I just wish that you were being more level headed about this!”  
“ I don’t have time! Look, if you’re that worried, come with me, you can protect me from the big bad sun”

“ Angel, you know that I want to, but I can’t. If something were to happen to Dawn while I was away....” she trailed off trying to think of the best thing to say next.  
“ You’re right, you need to stay here and I need to go there.”  
“ And that’s it? What if something happens and I need you here. What if you get stuck there and we never see each other again?”  
“ I won’t let that happen. But right now I need to go save Cordelia and you need to go protect your sister.”  
“So you just decide what’s right for everyone and that’s just how it is??”  
“ Buffy, I don’t have time for this”  
“ Right, why would you have time to listen to your girlfriend? It’s not like she matters.”

Angel took a deep breath trying to balance himself and not take her bait. She was scared for him and was trying to start a fight to protect him, them, he knew that, but her acting like she really didn’t matter to him really pissed him off.

“ You know what? If that’s really what you think, then just go home, Buffy. Worry about your family while I take care of mine, I’ve been doing just fine here on my own without you. I don’t need you here.”

It was too far, he knew it, the moment the words left his lips. 

She stood before him in all of her five feet and two inches of golden glory. Fury and disbelief coming off of her in waves. Her beautiful eyes were scrunched in anger, her lips twisted in a grimace. God, she was beautiful even when she was angry at him.

“ Buffy, I didn’t mean that mo ghrá, I...”

“ No, no, you’re right. You obviously don’t need me. Good luck with everything.”

She used up all of her strength to not fall apart in front of his eyes, to not show him how much he had hurt her. She then turned on her heel and started to walk out of the hotel.

“ Buffy! Wait! Where are you going??”

“I am going home, where people actually need me. Goodbye Angel.”

He wanted to follow her. He wanted to run to her and pull her against him and kiss some sense into her. He wanted to lift her up onto the desk behind her and rip off her clothes and show her how much he wanted her, how much he NEEDED her. But he didn’t, he couldn’t move a muscle, he just stood there while his soulmate walked away from him forever.

As soon as Buffy got home, she regretted everything she said and she knew that Angel did too. She had felt his regret. He stood there, towering over her, his beautiful chocolate, soulful eyes begging her to understand, to not fight with him. She thought that he would follow her, would beg her to stay, to help him. He would tell her that he couldn’t do this without her. But he didn’t. He let her leave. 

She had realized that it was for the best. If he had followed her, they may have ended up saying even more hurtful things to one another. They had already said more than they meant. They were both just stressed and constantly trying to save everyone, but themselves. She wanted to turn right back around and follow him through that portal, but then Glory had reared her ugly head again and figured out what Dawn truly was. Buffy couldn’t stop her.

She had left that message for Angel that night knowing that this was it, that she would sacrifice everything for Dawn. She had tried to get there before the portal had opened but she was too late. She could feel the evil on the other side of that portal, demons were flying out every which way, she might have even seen a dragon! 

This really was it. She was gonna let the world go to hell and the last thing her baby sister saw was going to be her protecting her. 

She was preparing to fight, she glanced behind the portal before she turned and caught sight of the sunrise that was on its way before hell was unleashed, when suddenly everything clicked. 

All of her soul searching the past few months.  
Her curiosity about the slayers before her.  
The first slayer.  
“Death is your gift.”  
It all made sense. It wasn’t death of others, it was her death that saved everyone, that would bring peace. What she needed to do was so clear to her now.

With her newfound destiny, she turned to her sister and told her that she loved her and her friends and Angel and that it was okay, she had figured it out and it was okay. And then she turned away without another glance and jumped. She was flying through the air and then landed in this crackling energy that was pulling her every which direction. She could practically feel her body being torn apart, it was unlike anything she had experienced and then...

“ ELIZA! There you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Is everything all right my dear?”

The clipped English accent of a man who she had started calling her best friend as of late, brought her out of her reveries. Buffy turned towards him with a heavy sigh and a fake smile, trying to push her past to the back of her mind and bring herself back to the present. 

Except. That was the problem, she wasn’t in the present anymore. She hadn’t given much thought to what would actually happen to her when she had jumped into that portal. A peaceful sleep perhaps. A final “The End” to the morbid fairytale that was her life. Ending up in a grassy field surrounded by men in red coats in England of all places in 1762 was definitely not a possibility that she had thought of.

Irish Gaelic translations:  
Tá mo chroí istigh ionat - My heart is in you: a nice way of saying I love you  
Mo chuid den tsaol- My share of life: you are my everything  
Mo chéadsearc- My first/true love

Mo chroí- My heart  
Mo Cuishle- My darling  
Mo Ghrá-My love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is my very first story! I have been obsessed with Buffy for forever and have recently become obsessed with Outlander so of course I needed to combine them together. Now I am a diehard Buffy/Angel fan and a diehard Claire/Jamie fan. So I am just playing around here. Who knows who will end up together 😉


	2. Chapter 2

“ ELIZA! There you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Is everything all right, my dear?”

“Oh yes, Johnny, I just needed some fresh air. Shall we be on our way to Helwater then?”

Lord John Grey looked at his dearest friend with worry, knowing that she was lying to him. She lied to him a lot. He knew from the moment he laid eyes on her that Lady Eliza Winters was a woman that he would never figure out, a woman full of mysteries that would always remain unsolved to him. 

They had met about a year earlier when she saved his life.

He was traveling alone, on his way back from visiting James Fraser in Helwater. He had meant to stop at an inn in Lancashire, but having a strong desire to sleep in his own bed that night, he decided to keep going. He knew that it was dangerous to travel through the woods alone at night, but he was a big boy, a grown man, a bloody soldier! He could surely handle a little trip through the woods. Little did he know, that decision would change his life forever. 

Not long into his journey, a sinister feeling started to fill the air around him just as he came across a turned over carriage in the middle of the road. 

He could smell the blood even before he stepped down from his horse. This could not be good. He approached with caution, not seeing any signs of life any where.

“Hallo there! Anybody here!?” 

He was met with nothing but the sounds of the forest sleeping. He was slowly making his way to the tipped over carriage. He had an eerie feeling that he was being watched. Just when he reached the door, he heard it. Heavy, jagged breathing, unlike anything he had heard before. He slowly went for his lucky dagger that he always kept on his belt but he didn’t have as much time as he thought. 

He was suddenly grabbed by his shoulder and flung onto the ground with a heavy weight pressing on top of him. If he thought the smell of blood was strong earlier, he felt like he was now drowning in it. He couldn’t see in the darkness but whatever was on top of him was growling, going for his neck. His first thought was a wolf. But the shape was too big, taller, he would swear it was a man if it wasn’t for the inhuman noises coming off of it.

It was impossibly strong. He kicked and flailed to try to push it off but he could not break free. Then he felt it, a pain in his neck, something sharp in his skin. It was agonizing. 

He could feel his life being drained from him. Just as he was about to give in to the cold, hollow darkness that was threatening to swallow him. The sharp thing in his neck was gone, the weight lifted.

He gripped the side of his neck, trying to stop the bleeding. He tried to sit up when he heard the sounds of a scuffle. He looked up and could barely make out two figures fighting. It was a quick fight. Ending with an other worldly scream as the creature sank down to the ground, no longer moving. Then it just seemed to disappear in a cloud of dust, leaving a lone figure in his vision.

John tried to get up in case this other figure was a threat as well, but his limbs felt heavy, his eyelids were drooping. And then there were warm hands upon him, comforting him. A cloth was being pressed to his neck.

He managed to look up just as his rescuers face caught the moonlight. He was finally able to see them, their eyes were the most beautiful shade of green, their hair was golden, shining in the moonlight, they had tanned flawless skin.

“Shhh, it’s alright, you’re alright now.” He swore he had heard the voice of a woman, the voice of an angel it seemed. But that couldn’t be right, where did this woman come from? Where was his rescuer? 

Unless this was it for him. His death had finally come and this angel before him was to take him to his final destination. But he surely wouldn’t be feeling this much pain if he was already dead. 

He wanted to question her, ask her what the hell was going on? Was she taking him to hell because of his sins? Because of what he was? Or did God forgive him like he had always hoped? But then his eyes were closing and he was embraced with a thick sleep that he couldn’t prevent even if he wanted to.

He had woken up some time later. The sun was just starting to come up. He was laying in a patch of grass, his coat on top of him as a blanket to keep him warm. He could hear the babbling of a stream nearby. His whole body ached. His neck was sore but there was no longer a gaping hole with blood pouring out of it, so that was an improvement.

He slowly raised himself up onto his arms and looked around him, he didn’t see any signs of his rescuer or that woman he had heard. Although she was probably just a figment of his imagination. Just as he made it to his feet with a lot of struggle and unmanly whimpers, he heard footsteps.

“Hold on a second there, pretty boy. You got beat up pretty bad last night, you need to go slow.”

Pretty boy? He looked up and saw the same green eyes from before. They belonged to a woman. She was beautiful. Golden tanned skin, with matching hair, a petite frame. She had a look about her that said she was young yet she carried herself like a mature, wise woman who had seen things no one should, he couldn’t quite explain it. 

But the oddest thing was her dress, well lack there of actually. She was wearing men’s trousers with a top that exposed her shoulders with long sleeves that went to her wrists. And there was a gap between her top and bottoms exposing her belly button. It was quite risqué. Definitely the outfit of a whore though he had never seen a prostitute wear trousers before.

And another rarity was her accent. It was not British nor Scottish, nor French, it was unlike anything he had before.

She came before him and tried to help him walk, but he pushed her back, not sure of her intentions.

“ Take it easy!” She said, “I am just trying to help you.”

“Who are you? Where are we?” Something just seemed off to him and he was extremely wary of everything around him at the moment. Although that could have been from all of the blood he lost last night. 

Nevertheless he had no idea if he could trust this woman, especially if the rest of her people weren’t willing to show themselves. There was no way she was out here by herself. Her people could have been hiding in the woods, waiting to ambush him for all that he knew. One could call him paranoid but he was a soldier. He was quite familiar with being ambushed.

“ I take it that it was your husband that helped me last night? Where is he?” He tilted his head to look around again.

“Husband? Why do you thin- oh! Yes, of course. Just because I am a woman, I couldn’t possibly be able to save anyone let alone be in the woods by myself. Is that what you’re implying?” She had said with sarcasm.

“ Well yes, but-“ she interrupted him.

“ You men are all the same. You are so small minded and think you are better than everyone else. See if I ever help one of you again!”

“And who exactly are you?” He demanded again, deciding to ignore her insults, “What are you doing out here in the middle of the woods? And why are you dressed like a wh- “

“A whore?? Wow, you know I really hate it here, you save someone’s life and then they insult you. You’re welcome by the way“ she rolled her eyes at him.

“Excuse me! Just who do you think you are? To speak to ME like that? My name is Lord Joh...”

She interrupted him, “Look Mister, I really don’t care what your name is. As for who I am, I am the person who saved your sorry ass last night.”

His mouth opened in shock, “You’re the person who...what?? You?? Impossible. Why are you lying to me?”

“ Do you see anybody else around? You are so full of yourself. Still not even a thank you.”

“ but, but, you’re a-“ he sputtered out.

“ still just a helpless woman?”

“ Yes, but-.”

“ Well from what I saw last night you were the helpless one and you know what? If I knew you were gonna be such a jerk after saving you, I wouldn’t have bothered to clean you up and get this for you.” 

She flung an apple and cheese at him, and a flask. He was speechless.

“ And since you’re a such a big tough man who clearly doesn’t need a woman around, I’ll just be on my way to hopefully find better company. It was not nice to meet you Lord something, something.”

With that she turned on her heel towards a beautiful white stallion that he hadn’t noticed before. She swung up onto the saddle with unbelievable grace. Especially considering the horse was ten times bigger then her. 

He looked down at the food she had brought him and was suddenly struck with how caring this woman was even though her mouth was saying something entirely different. But even last night, when she was whispering comforting nonsense into his ear, telling him that it was alright. Being unbelievably sweet and gentle. Taking care of him, asking for nothing in return. And he had insulted her right off the bat, it was definitely not what one should do to someone who just saved one’s life. And now she was leaving with no way for him to ever find her again.

“Wait, wait! I’m sorry miss. You are quite right! I should be more grateful, I just didn’t expect.....well....you.” He gave a self conscious smile, trying to charm her.

She sighed, sensing the olive branch from him, no matter how small it was.

“ Most people don’t expect me.” Her voice was quiet with melancholy.

“ Can we- can we start over please?....Hello Madam, my name is John Grey. You must forgive me for my indiscretions earlier. I am still a little disconcerted from the trauma of last night. Thank you for saving me. Can I know the name of my rescuer?”

She stood there, staring him down, keeping her face neutral, guarding her thoughts. She hated to admit it but he was quite easy on the eyes. He was tall and handsome in a boyishly feminine way. And he could obviously be charming when he wanted to be. 

“ Eliza. Lady Eliza Winters.” 

When she first landed here she realized that Buffy was probably not a name that would help her fit in. It wasn’t the most creative alias, but it had served her well. And she had no idea how you actually became a lady, but she liked the sound of it and no one ever questioned her on it. John looked like he wanted to, but he let it be.

“It’s nice to meet you Lady Eliza. I am sorry for being so rude with my inquisition earlier but I am quite curious as to how you came to be in the woods last night. And how you were able to subdue that...thing so easily. What was that thing exactly?”

Very charming indeed, she thought.

“Well ‘that thing’ was something that you would probably be better off living the rest of your life not knowing what it was.”

“ And whatever could you mean by that? It obviously must have been a wolf of some kind, it was just much bigger then any I have met before.”

“A wolf? That’s what you’re going to go with? It’s better than pcp, I guess” she mumbled the last part under her breath.

“PCP? What on earth are you talking about?”

“Oh, nothing mister. If you want to believe it was a wolf then it was a wolf. Now if we are done with this interrogation, I should be on my way. Good luck with everything my lord.”

“ Wait! You’re just going to leave me here??”

“ What? Just leave you here? I gave you food, I made sure your horse was safe and cleaned your wounds. And thankfully, you didn’t lose too much blood last night and your neck should heal fine. Just don’t try to look behind you for a while and you’ll be hunky dory. “

She said the most peculiar things and she was unbelievably disrespectful, but there was something intriguing about her, he wanted her to stick around. And after all she did save his life last night, he owed her something. Although he still couldn’t understand how she could have done that. She was so...little.

“ Yes and thank you again, but maybe you shouldn’t be unaccompanied in the woods like this, surely you are in need of an escort.”

“Escort? Ummm...apparently you didn’t notice, but I’m not like other girls here and I definitely do not need a man to take care of me. Especially an English one. No offense.”

Oh he definitely noticed. She struck him as very independent and rebellious, definitely not the type to submit to a husband, let alone a British soldier that she had just met in the woods.

“ Where do you live?” He asked her, trying to dig more information out of her.

She looked him over, debating how much she should share with him. “Oh here and there, I guess. I like to travel a lot, don’t like to stay in one place for too long” 

Not much then.

“ I see.” He had the vague idea that she didn’t actually have a home, a real home at least. One that a young lady such as she should have.

“Well maybe I need an escort to take me home” he said with a sheepish grin. Regretting the words as soon as they came out. They must have come out wrong, judging by the look on her face. 

“ Oh, really? And you think that I don’t have anything better to do then to follow an Englishman to his home and to do what? To take care of his cock? Who knows what kind of sick little fantasies have been running through that head of yours. No, thank you sir.”

“Wot??? No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Absolutely not. No. I wasn’t....I didn’t mean... I mean I do NOT want to have sex with you! I mean I’m not saying- not that you’re ugly, you are quite beautiful actually, but you REALLY aren’t my type. I mean not that I wouldn’t, I mean-and considering how you’re dressed, it wouldn’t be entirely far-fetched for me to think- not that I am saying you are a who-“

She had stood there watching him stumble through having his foot in his mouth with a stone face, not conveying how amused she was.

She simply held her hand up and he instantly shut his mouth and ducked his head, feeling his cheeks flame with embarrassment. She had turned away from him and he swore that he had heard a quiet chuckle. When she turned back around, he even detected a bit of amusement in her eyes.

“Wow and I thought I was a bad rambler” she said after holding his gaze for a few more moments. “Alright. Mister Gale was it?”

“Grey, Lord John Grey” he told her his name for the 3rd time.

“Oh right, right, right, Lord John Grey, sorry about tha- how does one even become a lord, do you have to like prance around a church with a chicken and whisper secret prayers or something?”

He stared at her in disbelief. Unsure if she was serious or not. This woman was quite a character and he found that he wanted to know more and more about her for reasons unbeknownst to himself. Where did she come from? Why was she saving random men in the dark from creatures she felt should not be named? It was all rather intriguing and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t dying from curiosity. 

That’s why he invited her to accompany him home so that he could learn more about her. Was she a spy? Did she have bad intentions toward the English? He didn’t really think so. Although she did seem to have a general distaste towards Englishmen, but most people did if he were to be honest with himself. But he should find out more about her. Keep her close, just in case. He had been wrong about people before.

“So will you come with me? I could help you if you need shelter, food, money, it’s the least I could do.”

She looked up at him, staring into his warm blue eyes. While he was British and he did basically call her a whore, and he was offended that he was saved by a woman, she could tell he meant no harm. She had a good sense for things like that. She liked to call it her spidey sense, she could usually sense evil when it was near, it was easier in demons of course. Humans were always a little bit harder to differentiate the good ones from the bad ones. And she couldn’t say what it was but this one, she KNEW was a good one, one that she was quite curious about. Even though she did have that thing that she was trying to get to when she had heard him being attacked at the fallen carriage. Oh but what the hell? It could wait.

“ Okay, I will come with you, Lord John Grey.”

He graced her with a beautiful smile, “John, please.”

She gave him a wicked grin, “Alright then, Johnny, lead the way.”

He knew then, in that moment, his life would never quite be the same, now that he had met Lady Eliza Winters.


	3. Chapter 3

Having Eliza as a traveling companion wasn’t as unpleasant as he thought it would be. They spoke of their personal lives along the way, getting to know one another. Making the long journey seem to go by faster than usual. All in all it was a nice trip.

And thankfully there weren’t any more monster attacks. 

And he was so grateful to finally be going home. To London. He hadn’t been there in ages. He had been on a mission the past few months, then had stopped at Helwater on his way home for his quarterly visit.

He had stayed a few days, hoping to spend some alone time with his favorite Scot, Jamie Fraser. Jamie used to be a prisoner of his when John was the warden of Ardsmuir prison. They had had quite a tumultuous relationship throughout the years. They had actually first met when John was just a 16 year old boy. He had tried to kill Jamie, the notorious Jacobite red headed leader in his own camp, while he was taking a piss in the middle of the night. 

They had come a long way since then. He didn’t think that Jamie considered them actual friends, but John would always consider Jamie as someone very dear to his heart even though he knew the feelings would never be reciprocated. He still had hope that some day, James Fraser would call him friend at the very least.

He tried to visit Helwater, the estate that Jamie was working through his parole at, every quarter. This visit however didn’t allow for them to have a lot of time together. They were able to squeeze in a game of chess, a favorite pastime of theirs that they had discovered at the prison. But Lord Dunsany loved to occupy the Lord’s time there with frivolous drivel, trying to get Lord John to use his contacts to help him with his investments. It was quite tacky.

It had also seemed Jamie was just as busy. He had a new companion in the form of the young Earl of Ellesmere, William Ransom. He was constantly at the stables, taking up all of Jamie’s time. It was very annoying, well to John at least. Jamie didn’t seem bothered by it at all. In fact he seemed to encourage the boy to be around. There was something with the way the two interacted, with the way Jamie interacted with the Earl. He seemed to light up whenever the boy was around. His eyes glowing, those slanted cat like eyes that were the color of the ocean that just happened to be an exact match to the young William’s eyes.

John never said anything, never voiced his suspicions. He knew if he did, it would be trouble for Jamie. Though anyone with eyes could see that the two were related, it became more obvious the older the boy got. That was a matter for a different time he supposed. It wasn’t his business. And things seemed to be going well for Jamie, John did not want to do anything to jeopardize that.

They had a pleasant visit overall. But Lord John was always left with a sense of emptiness whenever he left the Dunsany manor. Every time he visited Jamie, it reminded him of something he could never have. It was always bittersweet and he didn’t really mind when his visits ended.

And he was excited to go home.

For once, he didn’t have any orders to follow and could actually stay there for a while. He had a modest home, well modest for a person of his stature. His brother had taken over the large family manor and John had decided to purchase a three bedroom house that he thought had plenty of room for just him. Especially considering he was never home. He moved around so much, it was quite exhausting, so a simple house that could provide him with quiet and peaceful solitude was all he needed.

Once they arrived in town, Lord John went about getting Eliza set up in a tavern. He wasn’t sure that he wanted her in his home just yet. He had learned a lot about her on the way there. She said she was from the colonies. Had said that she even went to school there. Something that John had never heard of. She had a beloved sister that she cared for after her mother died from cancer. But then she had lost her and all of her friends not too long ago. She had spoke with such sadness, he swore he could feel her broken heart throbbing through the air.

He had then asked her where she had learned to defend herself, to change the subject. A mentor, she had said, someone that she considered more of a father than her actual one but she refused to say more on the subject. He let it be. Let her have her secrets. For now.

And he told her about himself. About his brother, he had left certain things out of course, he was entitled to his secrets as well. But he found that she was easy to talk to. He even found himself telling her about Jamie. Nothing too scandalous of course. 

It was nice. To talk to someone who didn’t judge him, who seemed generally interested in what he had to say. He never really had that before, not with someone that he wasn’t sleeping with of course. He was really starting to warm up to Eliza Winters.

But he did hate to admit it, he was a bit nervous about what people would think of her, in her scandalous outfit. But once again she surprised him. 

They had stopped for a rest not too far outside of town and Eliza had gone off to do “girly things” she had said. And when she came back she was wearing a beautiful, flawless gown of different shades of blue. Her hair was coiffed and swept up in a manner that seemed to be popular these days. 

Gone was the rebellious, young, wild girl that he had met in the woods. In her place was an elegant woman of station who held her head high.. A true lady. Lady Eliza. It was quite a remarkable sight.

“ Oh my! Lady Eliza you-“

“What? Too much? “

“ No, no you look beautiful, stunning actually. I didn’t think that you-“

“That I was actually a lady? I can dress and play the part when I’m needed to. But have you ever worn a corset before Johnny? It’s ridiculously uncomfortable, why they want women to have this unnatural shape is beyond me. And how is one supposed to take down an attacker when they could barely move their legs or even take a full breath. The clothing here feels like a prison itself. No wonder women are thought of as weak. How is one supposed to kick ass in this??“

He was growing accustomed to her odd commentary. It never quite made sense, but he had an idea of what she was saying. This woman was a puzzle with pieces being constantly added and then taken away. Being around her wasn’t an entirely unpleasant experience, but he could feel a faint throbbing in the back of his head caused by his constant confusion at the things she said.

Once she was checked in, he had left her to get settled with a promise to see her tomorrow while he went home to get settled himself. 

“So what are you going to do now?” He asked her over lunch the next day.

“ You mean since my destiny of saving a poor British soldier from a wolf is fulfilled?” She gave him a cheeky grin. He looked unamused.

“Well,” she continued, “I was planning a trip if you must know, I just haven’t made quite enough funds for it yet” she ducked her head down, hating to admit that.

“And where are you planning on going?”

She looked up at him from her plate, staring deep into his eyes. Searching. He wasn’t sure exactly what she was looking for but she seemed to have found it when she broke his gaze with a nod of her head.

“ Ireland. I’m trying to go to Ireland”

“I see. And what exactly is in Ireland? If I may be so bold to ask.” She instantly stiffened at his response.

“Yes, that is very bold of you to ask since it is frankly none of your business sir.”

“I’m sorry my lady, I don’t mean to be nosey. But if I am giving my money to someone, I would like to know what I am investing in.”

“ Giving your mone- wait a damn minute there! When exactly did I ask you for money?!” She stood up out of anger and then immediately sat back down out of embarrassment when the other patrons of the little pub looked up at her, making a scene.

“Will you please calm down? I know that you didn’t ask. But you did say that you were having trouble and since-“

“I don’t need a handout. I’m not some helpless little girl.” She spoke quietly, her head down again.

“ Anybody who has spent more than five minutes in a room with you could never accuse you of being helpless. I didn’t mean to offend you. I only meant to...help you... as you helped me.”

She looked up at him, seeing through his eyes that he spoke the truth. He really did just want to help her. She inhaled deeply.

“ There’s a man there, a man that I-“ she paused, her voice thick with emotion. “Well, I need to see him. And I’m not even sure if he’s in Ireland anymore, I know he’s in Europe somewhere. But I figured that was the best place to start looking.”

“ And this man. You’re going there to be with him? To marry him?” He took a drink of his tea while he asked her.

She looked up, staring at him with a stone face, impossible to read.

“I’m going there to kill him.”

Said tea went spewing across the table. He coughed up whatever had managed to make it into his mouth.

“YOU WOT?!?”

The onlookers from before were beyond curious now. Every eye in the pub was focused on them.

“Keep your voice down!” She whispered to him angrily. She stared down the people that were sitting closest to them. Daring them to say something. She knew that there would be a lot of gossip after this eventful little lunch, but as long as they did it behind her back, she didn’t care. Out of sight, out of mind.

“But-but you cant just. You can’t just go around murdering people!” He whispered back, just as angry.

“Hey! You wanted to know, so I told you. That doesn’t mean I need your opinion on it.”

“But- but you-“

“ Look here Johnny boy! There are things about me that you don’t know, things about the world you don’t know. Trust me when I say-“

“ Things that have to do with the wolf that attacked me.” He interrupted her, giving her a taste of her own medicine.

“ Well yes.”

“ And you have the authority on said things?”

“ Well...yes.” She stared at him in bewilderment, was he actually starting to understand her?

“You’re mad.”

Apparently not.

“Stark raving mad. I knew that there was something-“

“JOHNNY!” She whisper-yelled and reached over the table to grab his hand. She knew that he immediately wanted to snatch it back but he didn’t, he stopped talking and looked at her, waiting for her to continue. Giving her a chance to defend herself.

“ Look Johnny, I....I know that we just met and you have no reason to trust me, well I mean except for the whole life-saveage thing. Which was kind of a big deal, I broke a nail!” She held up her right index finger as proof. He looked at her like she was going madder by the minute. She hurried to continue.

“ What I am trying to say is that I know what I am doing and everything that I do or have ever done is always for the greater good. Whether I want to do it or not. I have fought with myself for months on this. Debating on what the right thing to do here was. This wasn’t an easy decision for me to make, the hardest one ever in fact. I’m still not even sure I want to go to Ireland yet, but I-“

“Come to a ball with me tonight” he interrupted her again.

“What? Did you not hear what I just said?” she paused, not sure that she heard him correctly, “And now you want me to go to a ball? With you? When you just accused me of being a crazy murderer?!”

“ I didn’t accuse you- look-“ he paused with a heavy sigh, “I believe you. I don’t know why, I can’t explain it and I fear this may come back to bite me in the arse. Pardon my language. But I believe you Eliza and I....I trust you.” He squeezed the hand that she was still holding his hand with.

She squeezed it back, staring into his eyes. She had a feeling like something had just changed between them, like she may have just made her first real friend here.

“So a ball huh? What should I wear?”

He met her back at the tavern that night to escort her to the ball. When she came down the stairs, he felt the air being pulled from his lungs. She was stunning. She wore a gorgeous off white gown made of lace and pearls, it was unlike anything he had seen a woman here wear before. It gave her an ethereal appearance, she looked like the angel that he had mistaken her for when he first saw her.

“Oh my. I will surely be the envy of every man in the room with you on my arm. You never fail to surprise me you know?”

She smiled at him, a bit shyly, “Thank yo- a good surprise right??” 

Was he flirting with her? Was she flirting with him? No, no, no, he had already said she wasn’t his type, and he wasn’t hers either. Hopefully they were on the same page about the friendship thing, she would hate to have another Xander situation on her hands.

“Yes my lady, a good surprise.”

“Can you stop with all of this my lady stuff,” she lightly scolded him. “Eliza. You should call me just plain old Eliza. That’s what friends do right? Skip all of the useless platitudes?”

He looked at her in surprise. She already considered him a friend, she didn’t seem like the trusting type, so for her to already call him a friend felt like it should be an honor to him.

“ Yes Eliza, that’s what friends do” she rewarded him with a lovely smile that lit up the whole room.

“Well shouldn’t we get going?” she gently prodded.

“Yes, yes after you my- Eliza” 

When they pulled up to the governors mansion, the ball was already in full effect.

“Wow, you people really take your parties seriously. What is this ball for anyways?” Eliza asked as he offered her his arm to make their way inside.

“ Oh, well it’s actually- well it’s for me.”

“ What?! For you??”

“ Yes, they’re giving me another medal for how well my last mission went.”

She looked up at him in awe.” And you didn’t think to mention that before?”

He looked down sheepishly, “I didn’t really think it was a big deal, I’ve had dozens of these.”

“ You’ve had dozens- wow talk about surprising people. That’s wonderful Johnny! Congratulations, but wouldn’t you rather- I mean shouldn’t you be-“

“What?”

“ Wouldn’t you rather be here with someone better than me? I mean this is a big night for you and I’m practically a stranger.”

He looked at her in disbelief, “Eliza, you have done more for me in the small time that I’ve known you than most of my fellow soldiers have, my so-called friends. There’s no one else I’d rather have with me tonight. “

“ Well then, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be, shall we?”

She had never been to a ball before. It was something else. A bunch of rich, British people looking down their noses at everyone. It really wasn’t her scene, but she didn’t mind being there for John, he didn’t really seem all that comfortable either.

She could feel the judgmental eyes on her, she was sure that her and John’s little lunch argument was already known throughout the town. She would hate to hear how it was relayed back to these nosey rats who thought of themselves as high society.

Many people came up to John and congratulated him throughout the evening. They thanked him for his service, there was even a little ceremony and everything. She lightly pushed him to go mingle while she stuck to the shadows trying to hide from the curious onlookers, but unfortunately the dress she chose didn’t really help her blend in. 

“Will you dance with me my dear Lady Eliza?” John had found her about an hour after his ceremony.

“ I don’t really know how to dance like this.”

He looked at her in surprise. What other way was there to dance? He tucked away that thought as just another thing to add to the mystery that was Eliza Winters.

“Just follow my lead, you’ll be fine.”

She let him lead her to the dance floor, it was quite fun once she got the hang of it. They danced for a few songs, she wasn’t sure since she couldn’t quite discern the beginning and ending of a song, it all sounded the same to her. 

As they made their way across the dance floor she noticed John’s eyes kept turning to something in the corner of the room. When she was finally at the right angle she saw that it was a man. A tall, handsome, dark haired man whose eyes seemed to be following John as well.

Not his type indeed. 

Was that even allowed in this time? She didn’t think so. She imagined being gay was worse than being a murderer here, which may have explained why John was so forgiving about her own murderous plans. Well, it wasn’t the first time she had a gay best friend, she would just have to be a bit more discreet about it this time.

She slowly started to pull away from him.

“ Johnny, this has been a lovely evening, I am honored that you invited me, but I think that I’m going to call it a night.”

“ Oh! Well, just let me say my goodbyes and I’ll-“”

“Oh no, no, no, nonsense! The is YOUR night. You should stay and enjoy the evening.” She nodded her head towards Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome and threw him a wink and then turned back to John and kissed him on the cheek.

“ Have a good night Johnny, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” 

Okay, she didn’t do discreet, sue her.

John stood on the dance floor with his mouth open in shock long after she walked away. A slow smile started to spread across his face. He thought this may be the start to a beautiful friendship. Eliza Winters was proving herself to be someone he really wanted in his life. Needed in fact.

And with that he turned back to the handsome stranger and had himself a good night indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t worry, Jamie is in the next one 😉 I just really wanted to build up the Buffy/John friendship because come on, how cute are they?


	4. Chapter 4

“Oh yes, Johnny, I just needed some fresh air. Shall we be on our way to Helwater then?” 

“ I suppose we should, if we want to make it there before nightfall.” John responded with a resigned acceptance.

He was a bit nervous. He hadn’t returned to the Dunsany estate, to Jamie, since he had first met Eliza after his last visit. He had meant to come back sooner, he really did. But he knew that he would have to make a very important decision once he got there.

He had started exchanging correspondence with Isobel Dunsany, the Lord Dunsany’s daughter, not long before his last visit to Helwater. She had always shown an interest in him, but he had ignored it. But with him getting older and his brother constantly nagging him, that it was time for him to settle down with a woman, John had started to consider it. And Isobel Dunsany was not an awful choice for a lifelong companion, far from it. She was kind, pretty, and a good person to her core. He couldn’t have chosen better for himself.

But then he had met a certain other Lady and Christ! Did that woman keep him busy. She was always off getting into trouble somewhere, dragging him along. There was rarely a dull moment.

Their first dramatic incident was not too long after they met. They were strolling through the streets of London, John was showing Eliza around his hometown when they heard a woman scream. Eliza was gone before he even fully registered what he had heard. He was only a moment behind her, but by the time he got around the corner, where the scream came from, she had a man pinned down to the ground with her foot on his chest. A slight, dark haired woman was cowering in the corner, her dress torn.

Seeing that Eliza had the threat secured, he had cautiously approached the terrified woman.

“It’s alright miss. You’re alright now” he tried to speak in soothing tones. He offered his hand to her slowly, not wanting to invade her space. She took it after a beat and let him help her up.

“ There, there now. Are you hurt? Did he- well did he-?” 

The woman quickly shook her head ‘no’ and then looked toward Eliza where she was still restraining the kicking mad man with her boot.

“No” she said quietly, “No, he didn’t have a chance, thanks to her”, a look of awe and appreciation came over her face.

“ Yes, yes, she certainly has a habit of saving people at just the right time, doesn’t she?”

Eliza hadn’t even hesitated when she had heard that scream. She just took off with no thought to herself, no worry about what situation she was throwing herself into. It must have been the same when she rescued him just weeks before.

He, too was now looking at her with a sense of awe and appreciation. He had never met someone so...selfless. 

The next episode was a few weeks later. 

They were at a pub one night, just chatting over a dram of whisky. She wasn’t much of a drinker she had said, but she had kept up with him rather well, considering. But she did make the most absurd faces after every time she drank. It was adorable.

They were having a good time when a man suddenly ran in, he was covered in blood.

“Help! Help me please! He’s coming, he’s coming!” the man shouted at no one in particular.

Eliza had immediately jumped up and went to him pressing her hands to his chest, where the blood seemed to be coming from.

“Johnny! I need something to press against this, to staunch the bleeding.”

He quickly grabbed a towel that was hanging near the bar and handed it to her. She had already opened the man’s shirt and was inspecting the wound. She then pressed the towel to it.

“It’s not too bad, it looks like he was stabbed, a clean wound.”

“Yes mistress,” the wounded man said, “I was stabbed with me’ own blade!”

“Who did this to you?” John questioned him.

“ I did!” Came a deep booming voice at the entrance of the pub.

He was a large man, also covered in blood, most likely not his own.

“And if you could move your little bitch out of the way, I could finish the job.”

Eliza stilled, John could feel her fury coming off of her in waves.

“ Now Eliza-“ He started.

“Hold the towel John.”

“Eliza, don’t-l”

“ HOLD THE BLOODY TOWEL JOHN,” 

He sighed, knowing that he couldn’t stop her. He placed his hand over the towel and took her place, seated next to the wounded man. She turned around to face the giant would-be killer.

“ What did you call just call me sir?” She questioned him in her sweetest voice.

“ You heard me, you cunt. Now move aside!” The man went to grab her arm to shove her but she didn’t budge. Instead she looked at him with a sly grin like that cat who caught the canary.

“ Oh, I was SO hoping that you would say that.”

When the man went to shove her again, her hand reached out and grabbed his arm in a death like grip. He seemed confused when he tried to shake her hand off, but he couldn’t. He went to grab her with his other hand and then she twisted the arm that she was holding around his back into a sharp unnatural angle that it looked incredibly painful.

The man struggled against her but he could not get out of her grip. The sight was quite impressive. A tiny 5 foot something woman handling a 6 foot something man like he wasn’t five times her weight. 

Then all of a sudden there were footsteps at the door, the authorities had come. Eliza flung the man to their feet, another impressive sight.

“Here you go, this piece of scum is all yours.“ And with that she turned back to check on the hurt man. Lord John went over and explained the situation to the officers, they gave Eliza a queer look but then they just dragged the angry giant away.

When John made his way back to Eliza, she was bandaging up the wound with some gauze the owner of the pub had in the back.

“So are you a healer as well as a barbarian?”

She rolled her eyes at him as he sat down next to her.

“No, I’m not a healer, or a barbarian,” she said after a pause. “I have just had enough wounds in my lifetime that I have had to figure out how to patch myself up. It’s not so different doing it on another person.”

He sat next to her deep in thought, still trying to figure her out.

“So is this just what you do? You just go around saving people?”

She made an uninterested sound, like she didn’t want to be praised at the moment, “I just do what needs to be done, don’t you?”

He thought it over, “I suppose, but I’m not like you, I’m not-“

“You’re not what?” She asked after a long pause.

“I’m not a hero.”

After that, they had many adventures together. She seemed to have a knack for finding people in need. Or people in need had a knack for finding her. In any case. It was all quite exciting, exhilarating even. He had never done things in such a selfless way. Sure he helped people, he was a soldier, he risked his life for strangers everyday. But this was different. He wasn’t doing it in the name of someone else, or for the money. He was doing it just because he could. 

He really liked who he was, since having Eliza in his life. It was why he was so reluctant to return to his regular, boring life. But he couldn’t avoid it forever. And he was going to have to decide what he was going to do about Isobel. The idea of marriage now made him sick to his stomach especially if that meant his relationship with Eliza would have to change. He hoped it didn’t, but he knew deep down that it would. He had a feeling deep down in his gut that told him EVERYTHING was about to change.

—————————————————————————————————  
They were just outside of Helwater when Eliza said she needed to stop to change before they made it into town. She liked to wear her “ass kicking” ensemble whenever she was traveling, in case any emergency slayage was needed.

“ You should go ahead without me Johnny, I can find you when I’m ready.”

John gave her a skeptical look. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, love.”

She gave John a look of her own. “How many times do we have to go over this? I am a grown woman who is perfectly capable of handling herself, I don’t need you to stand there and waste time waiting for me when you can be off, getting settled in and looking for your friends.”

John gave her a long hard look. He knew that something was bothering her. The way she went missing from the tavern that morning and how she was quiet through out the trip. 

He knew that there were things that she kept hidden from him. Things that seemed to haunt her. He never thought it was a good idea to leave her alone when she was in a mood like this. But she did seem to cherish her time alone and who was he to keep her from that. Especially considering where they were going to stay that week. He sighed heavily in defeat.

“Well, okay, if you’re sure?”

“ Yes Johnny, I’m sure, I’ll see you in a bit soldier.” And with that, she gave him one of the sloppiest salutes he had ever seen and steered her horse off the trail, into the forest, to attend to her “girly things”.

Eliza had found a place near a stream that looked like it was hardly traveled. She jumped down from her beautiful white horse, Willow, who she named after her dear friend who she considered a white witch in her own time.

She looked around to make sure she was alone. Once she was satisfied that there wasn’t another soul around she let out a huge breath. She loved Johnny, dearly. He was like the big brother that she never had. But she really missed being able to have time to herself and lately she couldn’t keep her past, well future really, out of her mind and it was getting harder to hide it from him. She wanted to tell him the truth, she did. But she was so afraid that he wouldn’t believe her even though he had seen many things that normal people did not and had just accepted it with ease. Still ,she just couldn’t bring herself to do it, not yet anyways. She couldn’t risk losing him. That was just another thing to add to her long list of things Buffy did not want to do. But for now, a nice wash in the creek sounded like a great distraction.

Just as she was about to take off her top she heard a snap, a twig breaking from someone stepping on it. She quickly pulled her shirt back down and whirled round towards the sound.

“Whose there?” She questioned.

There was no reply. She grabbed her dagger that she always kept hidden on her person. She then heard a slight rustling of leaves.

“I said who is there?” She repeated, “If you don’t come out now, I will go into that bush and drag you out by your slimy little perverted ears and then introduce you to Mr Pointy two.” She held her dagger up as proof of her threat.

“Och! Lass I dinna ken what a Mr Pointy two is, but I ken ye shouldna be waving a wee blade like that around.”

Her jaw dropped when the intruder stepped out from behind the bushes. She was expecting a young boy to come out, one who was trying to peep on her. But what stepped out was not what one could ever call a boy. Probably not even when he was one.

The first thing she noticed was his height, everyone was always tall to her, but this man could only be described as a giant. He had a full head of curly hair that was every shade of red she could imagine. And oh boy, was he handsome. He had a strong jaw, beautiful slanted eyes, shaped like a cat’s that were a gorgeous shade of blue that she had never quite seen before. He was wearing leather trousers and a nice coat over a button up shirt, she could see his muscles straining against it. No, this was not a boy, definitely a man. The word Viking kept spinning around in her head.

“Ummm.” She so eloquently said after spending what she was sure was an entirely inappropriate amount of time staring at him.

“Are ye lost Miss? A wee thing like ye shouldn’t be alone out here.”

That seemed to snap her out of the Viking induced trance. Was he Irish? Or Scottish? Buffy could never tell the difference which was probably considered a sin around here. 

“Excuse me, wee?? Did you really just call me wee?” She gave an affronted look.

“ Well I’m no exactly wrong am I? I didna mean it as an insult madam. I only meant that ye should have a chaperone.”

“Thank you for the concern, but I was doing just fine until a very not wee stranger started spying on me!”

“I wasna spying on you!” he denied. “I was only comin to the stream like I do every week, for a bit of quiet. There isna usually anyone here” he explained rationally.

“Oh.” She looked down and said quietly“ Well I’m sorry to intrude on your spot,” then she looked back up “but I REALLY need to wash, and to change without an audience preferably, so if you could kindly leave, you could have your spot back later. Thank you.” She said as a dismissal.

He stood there staring at her, scrutinizing her, like she was a puzzle and he was trying to solve her. Then abruptly he turned around and she was waiting for him to leave, but he didn’t. He just stood there with his back turned to her.

“ Umm... excuse me, what are you doing?”

“ I am waiting for ye to change.” He said without turning around.

She looked at his back in disbelief. “Okaaay, well that’s gentlemanly and everything but if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather you just leave.”

“ I canna do that mistress.” He replied matter of factly.

“And why exactly is that?”

“ Because I canna just leave a wee woman out here alone whether she wants to be or not.”

“ Oh! You did not just call me wee again!! I’ll have you know that I could have you flat on your back in three seconds without even breaking a sweat.” 

He turned around then and gave her a look of disbelief. She blushed deeply when she realized what she said.

“ I mean- I didn’t mean on your back like- like THAT!... I meant you would be on your back from me being on top of you....NO, NO, No, not on top of you, on top you. I mean-“ her embarrassing babble-thon was cut off by a deep amused chuckle that made her insides fill with butterflies for some reason.

“Are you laughing at me?” She asked, trying to keep whatever dignity she had left.

“ Aye, I am. Ye are an odd one aren’t ye? What’s yer name?”

She almost didn’t answer him, not sure of this handsome giant of a man.

“ Eliza. Eliza Winters.”

“ Eliza, that’s a bonny name. My name is Alex. Alexander MacKenzie.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Alexander Mackenzie “

Jamie introduced himself to the mysterious blonde lass with his current alias. His full name was James Alexander Malcom MacKenzie Fraser. He used his second names in Helwater, in case anyone recognized his real name. The people didn’t take too kindly to Jacobite supporters around here, no matter how long ago Culloden was. And he wasn’t sure exactly where this woman came from but she was clearly not from here. 

She was wearing men’s clothes and had a lot of skin showing that was unheard of in these parts. He wasn’t someone to judge but it was awfully scandalous. He didn’t really look at women anymore, knowing none could ever compare to his first love, but this woman was beautiful. A blind man could see that.

“ So are ye gonna change then lass? I reckon the people in these parts willna like what ye’re wearin now....No offense intended mistress. I only ken how these people act around here.” He added the last part hastily, already seeing what a firecracker she was from their short interaction. He thought there would be another explosion but she only stood there, looking him over.

“No offense taken, I’ve been judged more than the Whore of Bethlehem, I could care less what these people think of me. But the truth is, I am visiting town with someone and they would die of embarrassment if I showed up like this.” She finally replied after a few moments of deep thought.

“Babylon” Jamie said quietly.

“What?”

“It’s the Whore of Babylon, not Bethlehem, that’s where Jesus was born.”

“Oh. Right.” She blushed deeply. She wasn’t sure why she was so embarrassed, she got the name of things wrong all of the time, mostly because she liked people to think of her as the “dumb blonde”. She wanted them to underestimate her, so that she could surprise them unawares. But coming across as dumb in front of Alex wasn’t what she wanted for some reason.

They stared at each other then. Each trying to figure out the other. Eliza finally broke the silence.

“ Well, if you’re not going to leave, can you turn back around then?” She could see the tip of his ears turn red. He immediately turned around with a flourish.

“ Oh, aye, I’m sorry.” The rolling of his Rs made the butterflies in her tummy go into a frenzy again.

She quickly went about getting out of her slaying outfit and into her “lady” outfit, forgoing her wash, she just hoped he couldn’t smell her from there. 

She knew that most women needed help dressing in this time. There were so many laces and moving parts, it was like doing acrobats on a tight rope sometimes, it was absurd. Thankfully she had slayer flexibilities and could dress herself, for the most part. After a few awkward minutes of her quietly grunting with effort to get everything into the right place and Alex tunelessly humming to himself, she was finally done.

“Okay, I’m decent. You can turn around now.”

Jamie wasn’t sure what he was expecting when he turned around but it was certainly not this. He thought she was beautiful before, but he had no words to describe her now. 

She wore a pretty deep forest green gown that matched her eyes perfectly. The front had a deep v cut that showed off her modest yet full bosom, she was showing just enough skin to be teasing yet still classy. Her golden blonde tresses were swept up in a perfectly coiffed bun. He was impressed.

“ A Dhia!”

“Is it that bad? You know it’s hard to get dressed and do your hair without a mirror.” She patted the top of her head self consciously.

“ No, no bad at all. It’s verra good. You look bonny.”

“ Bonny?” She asked in confusion.

He chuckled, “I only meant ye look beautiful Mistress Winters.”

She blushed, “It’s Eliza, and thank you.” 

He bowed dramatically. “Well, shall I escort ye to wherever ye’re off to then Mistr- Eliza” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

Eliza didn’t think she had stopped blushing the whole time she was in his presence. There was just something about him that she found alluring. The way he talked, his height, his old fashioned, well now-fashioned charm, it almost reminded her of Ang- no, nope, nu-uh, she was not going there right now.

“Actually, I already have an escort whose waiting for me, honestly I’m surprised he hasn’t come to try to find me yet.” Eliza could swear that he seemed almost disappointed at the mention of her escort, but perhaps that was wishful thinking, but why would she wish that? She didn’t care to go down that road at the moment either. She climbed up onto her horse.

“ It was nice meeting you, Mr Macdonald, was it? Maybe I’ll see you around.”

“ Mackenzie. But ye should call me Alex.” 

“Right. See you around, Alexander.” And with that she took off towards town to find Johnny.

Jamie stood there for a long time after she left. He didn’t know why, but when she mentioned that someone was waiting for her, he felt a slight twinge in his belly. Like he was disappointed. He didn’t understand it. It wasn’t like he knew this woman at all and he was certainly not interested in courting her. In courting anyone ever again.

———————————-

Eliza had found John rather quickly after her encounter with Alexander MacKenzie. They arrived at the Dunsany manor together. John had made introductions and then they were shown to their rooms in the guest quarters to freshen up before dinner.

“Johnny! This place is massive.”

“Yes, the Dunsanys are rather rich.”

“Rather rich? What do they do for a living? Steal babies and sell them on the black market?”

John laughed, “ No, they’re old money, the estate has been inherited from generation to generation, probably being built on again and again.”

“Must be nice to just be born into such a life of luxury without having to work for it.”

John gave her a withering look.

“I wasn’t talking about you Johnny, you deserve what you have.”

His face softened. “Well, I’m not sure about that, but yes there are many people who work hard their whole lives and will never have this. I would not put the Dunsanys on the list of most deserving, but I have met less suitable rich people, if that makes you feel better.”

It didn’t, but she let it go. She seemed to do that a lot here. There were so many things wrong in this time and there wasn’t much she could do about it.

They actually had a nice dinner. Lord Dunsany was a somewhat pleasant, plump gentleman, who was constantly asking John about his opinions on his investments. 

Lady Dunsany was polite and courteous, but there was something sort of- cold about her. Like she didn’t want to get too close to people, Eliza could relate. 

Their daughter, Isobel was a sweet young girl who could not stop looking at Johnny, she kept trying to engage in conversation with him. She seemed quite smitten by him, he was a bit aloof with her at first, but as the dinner went on, Johnny warmed up to her. There was a lot of smiling and laughing going on between them, was Johnny flirting with her? Eliza found that odd, considering he was gay, she had never seen him even look at a woman before, only engaging in polite conversation when needed. She was going to have to ask him about what was going on with Isobel later.

Then there was the sweetest Dunsany of all, little Willie. Whose last name was actually Ransom, his mother, the eldest Dunsany daughter, had died giving birth to him and his father had killed himself not long after. It was quite a sad story that tugged at her heart strings. He had been introduced to her as an Earl, of something-something, which Eliza thought was adorable until John gave her a look when she didn’t bow.

“I hope you enjoyed the meal Lady Eliza, we are very fortunate to have you in our home.” William had kept her occupied all through dinner, talking her ear off in an adorable way only a six year old could get away with. This little boy was so formal and cute, she wanted to pinch his cheeks, but she knew she would get a lot more than just a disapproving look if she did.

“ Why, yes, everything was wonderful, your grace. Thank you for all of your hospitality.”

They had a dram after dinner when the little one went to bed, until the elder Dunsanys retired for the night. Eliza was about to ask John to go for a walk so she could get the dirt on everyone here, but Isobel beat her to it.

“ Lord John, I was wondering if you’d like to accompany me for a stroll before bed. The moon is so full tonight and the air is quite warm and pleasant.” 

John paused for a moment, considering it, then he looked at Eliza with a question in his eyes. She wasn’t sure why, he was a grown man, he didn’t need her permission, but she assumed he didn’t want to seem like he was abandoning her. He kept looking back and forth between the blondes like he was torn, Eliza decided to intervene.

“Oh go on, you two. I am off to bed, it’s been a long day. I’ll see you in the morning Johnny. Good night Lady Isobel, it was wonderful to meet you.” She bowed to both of them and went upstairs to have an actual bath and tuck herself into a nice warm bed for the first time in a long time. 

She would never admit it, but thoughts of a certain red haired, blue eyed viking may have been floating through her mind as she fell asleep that night.

———————

The next day John wanted to take Eliza around the estate for a little tour. They were headed to the stables first, where John’s friend, Jamie worked. She had heard a bit about this Jamie, he was Scottish and John had known him for a long time. He was on parole and he was working it off for the Dunsanys and John regularly came to check on him, before he met her. But Eliza didn’t know what his crime was or why John was involved. 

She had a feeling there was a lot more to it and Jamie may have been more than just a friend. John always got this little twinkle in his eye when he spoke of him, but he would shut down whenever she tried to question him about it further. She figured she would find out the truth soon, in the meantime, there were more pressing matters.

“Sooo how was your stroll with the Lady Isobel last night?”

John paused his step momentarily, “It was lovely, I hadn’t seen her in a while so it was nice to catch up.” There was an odd lilt to his voice that she hadn’t heard before.

“Catch up? Is that what you call it these days?” She winked at him, hoping to get a rise out of him. And boy did she get a rise.

“ELIZA! What are you trying to imply? Isobel is a sweet, innocent girl, don’t go around saying things like that about her.” He said heatedly.

She was taken aback. She didn’t expect him to snap like that, he usually enjoyed her playful jokes, there was definitely something going on there, something that he was not ready to share. “I’m sorry, Johnny, I didn’t mean anything by it.”

He sighed, “No, love, I’m sorry, I know you didn’t, it’s just that....it’s just...Eliza, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you. What actually happened last night was that I -“

“ Lord John! Is that ye?”

They were interrupted by a familiar Scottish burr behind them. John looked at Eliza with panic. He took another deep breath, just as he was about to turn around to greet Jamie, a thought occurred to him. He grabbed Eliza’s arm and started whispering to her.

“ Eliza, this is Jamie coming towards us, but I forgot to tell you that he can’t go by that name here, so you must call him-“

“Alex?” She questioned as the man in question approached the pair. John looked up in surprise.

“ Eliza, it’s nice to see ye again. Lord John.”

John stood there with his mouth open for a few awkward moments.

“Oh, you two know each other?”

Eliza exchanged a glance with the red head, “Oh, no actually, I just met him yesterday on the way into town, I didn’t think tha- wait! You’re James Fraser!?” She turned to him in disbelief.

“ Eliza!” John shouted.

“Och. It’s alright, John. There’s no one around.”

Their words went right over Eliza’s head, “Why would you lie and tell me your name was Alex?”

“ Because that’s what he goes by here, which I was just trying to explain to you.” John explained, exasperated.

“Oh.” Eliza ducked her head down. So this was James Fraser, the man that John seemed to have had some sordid affair with....the same man who she had very R-rated dreams about last night. Uh-oh. This was not good. 

Jamie looked between the pair curiously. How exactly did Lord John know this peculiar woman? His first impression of her told him that she wasn’t exactly the type to be hanging around British soldiers, not that John was your typical soldier, but still.

“So uh... Ye and Lord John are here together?” Jamie finally broke the silence.

John cleared his throat, “Yes, Lady Eliza here has been traveling with me lately, she has become a dear friend to me.”

“Friend?” Jamie questioned suspiciously.

“Yes, friend, “ Eliza butted in, hating when people talked about her like she wasn’t there, “Is that a problem? You think that a man and a woman can’t be friends?”

“Nay, I dinna mean anything by it, Eliza, I’m just surprised is all.” He was quickly getting used to her intensity.

“Well, yes, Eliza and I aren’t your typical-“

“Lady Eliza!!” John started to try to explain their odd relationship when they were interrupted by little William running toward them and flinging his arms around Eliza’s legs. “My Lady, I’ve been looking for you all morning.”

Eliza giggled, instantly charmed by this sweet little boy, who she knew had a big life full of daunting responsibilities ahead of him. She squatted down next to him.

“Oh no, I am SO sorry, your grace! I am very happy you found me, do you come to the stables often?”

“Aye,” Jamie chimed in, “Young William is quite the little rider” he said proudly. Eliza looked between the red headed Viking and the tiny boy, sensing a genuine connection between the two of them. She glanced at John and saw an inscrutable look on his face.

“ Is that right? You like horses Willie?”

“Oh yes! My lady!! Do you want to see me ride? Mack will help me.”

She looked at Jamie, surprised that the boy just assumed that he would help him, but she guessed, being an Earl, you probably always got everything you wanted. 

“Oh, well I think ‘Mack’ might be busy-“

“ Oh, no, if the boy wants ta ride, I’ll take him. But ye didna have to stay and watch, it’s no all that excitin’ .”

John was quiet for a moment, “Yes, I was just going to show Lady Eliza here around town anyways. Perhaps another time we’ll be able to watch. Enjoy your riding lesson, My Lord.” He bowed to the young Earl and held out his arm for Eliza to take.

She hesitated. She was never a big fan of kids, but this little boy instantly captivated her. She sort of did want to stick around and watch him and not to mention the giant hunk of salty goodness that was Jamie. 

She felt like she could watch him all day. He was wearing a short sleeve shirt, that showed off his muscles that were glistening with sweat from whatever he was doing before- what was wrong with her? She had just met the man and she was ogling him like a horny schoolgirl. It was ridiculous!

And there was clearly something between him and John, although after meeting him, it seemed to be more on John’s end than Jamie’s. But it didn’t matter, she could never do something that could hurt her best friend. Not that she was interested in doing anything with Jamie anyways. He was just very nice to look at. That was all. Absolutely nothing else. Nothing.

She finally sighed and took John’s arm. It was probably best to just steer clear of Jamie Fraser until she could get her hormones under control....For now at least.


	6. Chapter 6

“ Is something wrong, Johnny?

They were coming back from a nice day, walking around town together. But Eliza could tell that John was bothered by something even though he was trying to act normal. She wanted to let it go and wait for him to tell her in his own time. But she hated seeing him like this and she was dying from curiosity.

“ What do you mean, love?”

“ Don’t ‘love’ me Johnny.” She honestly hated when he called her that anyways, it reminded her too much of a certain bleached blonde vampire. Which then reminded her of a home, of a family that she would never see again. 

“Something has been wrong with you ever since we got here! And I know that you were going to tell me this morning before we got interrupted. But then you never brought it up again. You can tell me anything, Johnny, you should know this by now.”

“Eliza...I think we should be...”

“Lord John!!!” Seriously? Another interruption? Eliza was getting ready to stab someone. But she saw that it was Lady Isobel heading straight towards them and she didn’t think Johnny would appreciate it if she pulled out Mister Pointy Two.

“My lady.” John bowed as she approached and with a quick look at Eliza, she bowed as well, though somewhat reluctantly. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to having to bow to someone. 

“I’m so glad I found you, we were just going to sit down to have dinner, and I would love to have you join us,” she paused and then glanced at Eliza, realizing she was being rude,” You and Lady Eliza of course.”

“ Yes, of course, my lady. We would be honored.” John offered his arm to Isobel and started to escort her inside without a second glance at Eliza. She rolled her eyes, knowing that he jumped at the chance to get out of his conversation with her on purpose. Well, he wasn’t going to be able to avoid her forever.

—————-

Eliza woke up the next morning, planning on finally sitting John down to find out what was wrong, with no interruptions this time, but she couldn’t find him anywhere. Unsure of what she should do for the day, she found her feet taking her towards the stables.

Before she knew it, she came to an open arena where a certain Scot and little boy were laughing together while the former was on top of his horse.

Eliza couldn’t stop the smile that came to her face at the sight of them. It was so cute, how patient Jamie was and how happy Willie looked riding his horse. It was a calming sight. She sat down at a bench nearby to watch, but to not intrude.

But then the more Eliza watched them, the more it was like she was watching a father and son instead of a young heir and his employee. The way they held themselves, the way they laughed, it was so similar. Even their noses started to look the same, and their eyes. When she thought back on it, they had the exact same color of beautiful blue slanted eyes....she gasped out loud when she realized it. 

But it couldn’t be. Willie’s father was some fancy earl unless.... unless Willie’s mother cheated on him with Jamie. But he wouldn’t do that. Would he? Maybe he would, it’s not like she knew the man. But he just seemed so...decent. Surely he wouldn’t sleep with another man’s wife. 

Eliza had no idea what to think. But no one had said anything. Johnny hadn’t said anything, but he did have that look on his face when they were all together the morning before. That look that she couldn’t quite read. 

“Yes. I can’t quite believe it myself either, but it is quite obvious the more you see them together.” The man she was just thinking of said behind her. 

“Johnny! What are you- you mean Willie really is....”

“Yes.” He said again quietly. “I believe so, I mean I have no proof, but I do have two eyes.”

“And what? This is just like a big secret that everyone pretends they don’t know? James just stands there and pretends like that isn’t his son. He doesn’t even claim him??”

John sighed. “Eliza, do you remember when we first met and you said there were things about the world I didn’t know?”

“ Yes.” She replied, not understanding where he was going with that.

“Well there are things in THIS world, in MY world that I’m not sure you understand. There is a certain way of things. And it is just the way it needs to be. And if a secret like this were to get out, it could ruin that little boy’s life forever. By James living this way, he is protecting him.”

“But shouldn’t Willie know who his real father is?”

“That’s not up to us.”

She sighed. She hated it but John was right. She wasn’t apart of THIS world. Who was she to decide what was right? She felt a strong shiver go through her body. She was the damn slayer, wasn’t it her to job to do the right thing?Being in this time was such a mind-fuck sometimes.

“Are you cold?” The morning air was a bit crisp and John had seen her shiver and mistaken the cause for it. She had started to say no, but he had already slipped off his coat and put it on her shoulders. She swam in it, but it WAS rather cold and the jacket was like a nice, warm hug, something she had a sudden yearning for.

“Thank you Johnny” she said quietly. They stood there watching the secret father/son duo in comfortable silence. 

“Eliza, would you like to walk with me through the courtyard? There’s something I’ve been meaning to discuss with you.”

Finally! Johnny was going to tell her his secret. 

“Oh yes! Johnny, I would love to.” She got up from the bench and stuck her hands into the large British red coat when her hand felt something large and solid. She pulled it out of the pocket and found herself holding a plain black box. She opened it slowly and revealed a beautiful diamond ring.

“Umm...Johnny what is this?”

John turned back to her and a look of shock came over him as he registered what he was seeing. Well this was it, he would rather have done this somewhere without an audience, even though Jamie and Willie were well out of earshot.

“Uh- that? Well that is an engagement ring.”

“Yes, I can see that. Why exactly do you have an engagement ring, Johnny?”

“Well, if one is going to propose marriage they tend to have a ring to give.” He said rather smartly.

“And that’s what you’re going to do? You’re going to propose marriage? To who? Isobel Dunsany??” She asked in disbelief.

“Well yes, but-“

“And you weren’t going to tell me??”

“Eliza! It’s not that simple I-“ she interrupted him again.

“Not that simple?!? You’re my best friend Johnny! I know that you’ve been avoiding me to hide something. But this? Why wouldn’t you tell me this? You think I wouldn’t approve? That I would judge you?”

“No” he said quietly.” No, I knew that you wouldn’t exactly agree with it, but you would support any decision I made.”

“Then why? Why would you keep this from me? Why would you act like-“

“BECAUSE I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU!! I WANTED TO MARRY YOU ELIZA!” He finally shouted at her.

She felt all of the air rush out of her lungs. She tried to speak but she couldn’t get any actual words to come out. She just stood there, not believing what he had just said. John swallowed. It was time to go all in.

“Eliza, think about it. You know ME, you REALLY know me. You’re the only person in this world who actually lets me be me! And NOTHING has to change between us. We can still go on our adventures together, we can still have fun together and help each other. We just won’t be judged anymore. It’s the perfect situation for us.”

She could feel the tips of her fingers going numb. Shock. She was going into shock.

“ John. I....I don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t say anything. I know this is a lot to ask. But this won’t change anything, in fact this will keep anything from changing! If I have to marry Isobel, we won’t be able to be us anymore Eliza. “

“ And thats it? You have to marry her or marry me? Why does it have to be like that? And why now?”

“ Because if I want to move up in the world Eliza...If I want to be more than I am, I have to be respected.....and my brother has told me of his fears that people are becoming suspicious of me and the...company I keep in my bedroom.”

“It’s none of their damn business what goes on in your bedroom!”

“It doesn’t matter! This is how it is Eliza! I just explained it to you! You don’t understand this world!”

“No, I don’t understand it and quite frankly, I don’t want to.”

“Eliza, please love. I’m not askin for an answer now. Just think about it, give it time.”

She stepped away from him slowly, shaking her head back and forth. She tried to choke back the tears in her throat.

“I cant marry you, Johnny” she said in a shaky voice. “I can’t.....I can’t”

She knew why John wanted this, she could understand where he was coming from. She knew that she was judged for being an unmarried woman over the age of eighteen. She didn’t give a damn, but John did, he HAD to.

But she couldn’t marry him, he didn’t even know who she really was, he didn’t know where she really came from. WHEN she really came from. She may not understand his world now, but he could NEVER understand hers.

“Eliza-“

“I’m sorry Johnny, I’m so sorry.” She pulled his coat off of her and shoved it and the ring towards him and then she ran away. As far away from him as she could get.

“ELIZA! Come back! Eliza!” He stood there watching her quickly retreating form. “God Damn it!” He threw his coat down and quite literally stomped on it, then stormed away in the opposite direction.

———————-  
Jamie had started his morning like any other except he may have woken up with pleasant visions of a certain blonde haired beauty floating through his mind. Not that he would admit that out loud. 

He got up and fed the animals and did his daily routine. William had showed up like usual begging for an early morning ride. He had only agreed to it after he helped him finish his chores, which Willie did so with gusto. He loved any time that he got to spend with Jamie.

After chores were done, Jamie was walking Willie around the arena on his favorite horse when a head of blonde hair caught his eye. He saw Eliza sitting on a bench, Lord John was behind her. He saw him slip off his jacket and slide it onto her dainty shoulders. Jamie watched for a minute, trying to figure out what was actually going on between those two. And why the thought of them being more than friends gave him a sharp unpleasant twinge in his gut.

After a few moments, Willie made a displeased sound, wanting Jamie to turn his attention back to him. He willed himself to pull his eyes away from the mysterious woman who he couldn’t keep out of his head.

He followed Willie around for a bit longer when he heard the odd couple shouting. They were far enough away that he couldn’t make out what they were saying. Then he watched as Eliza threw off the hideous red coat and ran away, towards the woods near the edge of the property. He then heard John shout something after her and watched him throw his jacket down in anger and then stomp off towards the manor.

Jamie considered the situation and then quickly made a decision . He told Willie that he would have to cut their lesson short that morning, but he could come back later in the afternoon. The six year old had a mini tantrum about it, but quickly conceded and agreed to another lesson later. Jamie then grabbed his horse and rode towards the same direction Eliza went.

———

It didn’t take long for him to find her. She was in the same spot that he met her, just days before. He didn’t know how she had gotten there so fast, especially on foot. It was not that close to the Dunsany manor.

She was sitting near the stream. Her knees were curled up to her chest and she had her head resting on top of her knees,her arms were wrapped around them. He could see her shoulders shaking from her crying. 

He stood there, debating on the best way to approach her. Just as he made a step, he heard a noise and felt something fly towards him sending him crashing to the ground. He looked up and saw Eliza on top of him, her blade against his throat. 

He was in shock. He looked at her like he was seeing her for the first time. She had a dangerous glint in her eyes, they were practically glowing with something almost feral, ancient. Her blonde hair had fallen out of its bun and was falling all around her, like a golden halo. She looked like an avenging angel.

“a 'dìoghaltas aingeal” he whispered as he took in the sight of her.

“James! Oh my god! I am so sorry” she quickly pulled herself off of him.

“It’s alright lass, I spose that’s what ye meant when ye said ye could have me flat on my back....How did ye do that exactly? I must weigh ten times as ye.”

She blushed deeply and then shrugged, “I-uh I work out a lot.”

“Ye do what a lot?” This woman got stranger and stranger the more he interacted with her. 

“It doesn’t matter. I’m sorry for attacking you like that, you scared me.”

“I’m sorry I scared ye, I just, I saw ye talkin with Lord John and it didna seem like pleasant conversation. I wanted ta make sure ye were okay.”

She was very touched by his gesture. Every time she talked to him, he impressed her with his sweet actions. They were definitely not the actions of an adulterer who would get his boss’s daughter pregnant and then keep it a secret. But like John had said, it was not their business. 

She then cringed at the mention of her and John’s fight, nervous about what Jamie had heard.

“ Oh, you saw that?”

“Aye, but I wasna spying or anythin’ and I didna hear what it was about.”

“Good” she sighed with relief.

“But-“ Jamie started “ If you wanted to talk about it lass, I wouldna mind listening.”

“That’s kind of you James, really, but if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather never mention it again and sit here in self pity for a bit.” 

And with that she plopped back down onto her spot by the water and stared off into the woods across the way. Jamie watched her for a moment, her face had been stained with tears but she had wiped them away quickly when she first saw that it was him. And she had put on quite a brave act there, but he could tell that she was deeply upset by whatever happened between her and John. He didn’t want to leave her alone like this. 

“Well if its all the same to ye, I’d like ta sit next to ye while ye pity yerself....in silence, of course.” He sat down next to her, leaving enough space between them so he wasn’t crowding her.

She looked over at him after a while, about to ask him to leave when she realized that his presence was actually quite comforting. And he kept true to his word. He just sat there and left her to her thoughts.

They stayed like that for what seemed like hours. Eliza was the one that finally broke the silence.

“James?”

“Aye?” He responded to her quietly.

“Why are you on parole? Were you in prison?”

That was not what he expected her to say. After another moment of silence, she feared that she may have offended him.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry, I was just curious.”

“Culloden. I was arrested after Culloden.”

“Culloden?” She knew she heard that word somewhere before but she couldn’t quite place it.

“Ye dinna ken what Culloden is?” He looked at her like her head had just fallen off.

“Oh, no, no, no. I know it. It’s the name of, well the name of the-“

“ Where the battle between the British and Scottish took place in 1745.”

“Yes, yes the Jacobites! And Chuckie Stewart and all that.” She finally remembered that Johnny had told her about Culloden, about where he lost his first love.

“ Charlie Stewart. Ye really are no from around here are ye?”

She shook her head, “ No, I’m really, really not.” She said quietly.

“Where are ye from then?”

“ From somewhere very far away. Somewhere...I’ll never see again.” She said sadly.

“Ye dinna- Ye dinna have any family lass?”

She looked at him, trying to keep the tears out of her eyes. She had already had such an emotionally difficult day and it was barely noon. She was having a hard time keeping herself together.

“No, they’re all....gone...all of my family and friends, they’re gone.” She spoke with such sadness, Jamie couldn’t bear it for some reason. Before he thought about what he was doing he grabbed her hand that was resting on top of her knee.

“I am verra sorry to hear that Eliza.”

She looked at his hand on top of hers. It was so big compared to hers, he could fit ten of her hands into his one. It felt nice and warm...comforting.

“Thank you, James....Have you ever...well, have you ever lost someone before?”

Images of his beautiful Sassenach wife, Claire flew threw his mind before he could stop them. Images that he had made up of his daughter who was a still born and of his son that he had never met also flew by. His heart clenched painfully.

He was silent for a long moment. Eliza instantly regretted the question when she saw the pain seeping into his eyes.

“Aye” he said so quietly that she wasn’t sure he said anything at all.” Aye, I have.”

“Im sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

“ Nay, it’s alright. I just- I havena thought about them in a long time.”

“It doesn’t get easier does it?” She asked in a whisper.

“ No, it doesna....but....but sometimes it’s nice to have the memories of loved ones. Of having someone to care for, even if they’re not there. It’s better than having nothing at all, better than having emptiness.”

She squeezed the hand that was on top of hers, appreciating his words. This man continued to surprise her. He was giant yet gentle, he was a warrior in the Scottish army that must have done some major damage in his time, yet he was sitting here, being sweet and thoughtful.

“Thank you James, I appreciate you staying with me, you didn’t have to.”

“ Och! Anytime lass, yer company beats the cows and horses any day. Ye smell much better too.”

She laughed. “I think that was supposed to be a compliment, maybe. Thank you anyways.”

“ Oh, aye. Ye smell heavenly, my lady.” He then took the hand he was holding and kissed the back of it as he rose from his seat. Did he just- Was he flirting with her?

The butterflies suddenly returned to her tummy with a vengeance.

Oh boy.


	7. Chapter 7

Jamie had stood up and was staring at the water rushing by. 

“We should probably head back soon.” He said.

“Do we have to? Are you sure we can’t just stay here forever? Avoiding everything and everyone including all of our adult responsibilities?” She looked up at him pleadingly, wishing he would say ‘no, of course we can hide here forever.’ 

He looked at her with a sly grin, “As pleasant as that sounds, I think someone will miss us and come looking sooner or later. I ken that young William will have a fit if I dinna finish his lesson today. And Lord John will probably be seeking ye out soon if he hasna started already.”

She sighed morosely, “Right, of course.”

“Ye canna avoid John forever, Eliza.”

“I know, I know, I just....I don’t know what to say to him, I don’t know if there’s anything TO say. I think it’s too late now.” She spoke with such a resounding sadness. 

“What happened ‘tween ye two, lass? Ye were both right as rain yesterday.”

She gazed into his eyes. Trying to determine how much she could tell him. He seemed like a genuinely good person that she could trust, well except for the whole he might be an adulterer with a secret son thing, but she could have been wrong. Did it even matter? He had been nothing but kind to her and John obviously thought very highly of him. Oh, what the hell?

“He asked me to marry him.”

“He what?!?!”

“Yes, I had about the same reaction myself.” She said pretentiously.

“ But... but... I thought ye were just friends. And I thought...I mean ye’re a WOMAN!”

She was surprised, “Yes, I am....so uh... I guess, you know about him? Like you know about the REAL him?”

Jamie stood there deep in thought for a moment before he responded.

“Aye, I ken.”

“ Of course you do, I dont know why I’m surprised, I mean you two have probably been- I should have known-“

“WHAT?!? Where did ye hear that? Did John say that?” He had jumped up in anger, not believing what she had just said.

Eliza held her hands up in surrender, instantly regretting her words.

“No, no, no, he didn’t say that, he didn’t say ANYTHING about you. All I knew about you was that you were here on parole and John checks on you a few times a year. I didn’t... I mean I just assumed..with the way he talks about you..and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Jamie turned away from her trying to collect himself. He didn’t mean to shout at her, but that was a very sore subject for him.

“He tried....once...a long time ago. I threatened to kill him. We’ve never spoken bout it since this day.” He said after an awkward moment of silence.

Eliza was surprised. This man who had seemed so docile had switched his tone so easily. She should’ve known better, being gay was just a bad thing here, to everyone, whether they were a good person or not. She decided to let it go, something she was trying to let herself get used to.

“Anyways, the reason he wanted to marry me was to help him keep that a secret. To help him move up in the world as a respectable, married man, I suppose.”

“But...but that wouldna be fair to ye!” 

“No, it wouldn’t. But it would help Johnny and he’s my best friend, I only want good things for him.”

“So ye’re considering it then?”

“No, I already told him no. I think...I think that he’s going propose to Isobel Dunsany.”

“That’s no fair to her either.”

“No, it isn’t. But I do know that John is...fond of her and will obviously take care of her.”

“ So...ye’re upset he’s gonna marry her now?” 

Eliza shook her head, “No. I’m upset because he said if he married her, him and I....we couldn’t be...him and I anymore. We couldn’t be as close as we are now.”

“He’s no wrong. He will have ta be a husband now, and I dinna claim to be an expert on women but I dinna think they like their husbands to constantly be around someone...well...someone like ye.”

“Someone like me?? What do you mean by that?”

“I dinna mean any offense, I only meant someone....as beautiful as ye.” The tips of his ears turned red again.

“Oh....well, thank you, but I mean, Johnny and I aren’t like that.”

“ Aye, but it doesna matter. It’s no proper for a man to be around a woman who is no his wife so much.”

“Right. Because it’s ‘just the way of things’” she rolled her eyes. She was really sick of this whole world of stuck up British nobles with their dumb rules. It was stupid.

“Aye, it is. And if people knew what John was, it wouldna end well for him.”

“What do you mean?” She asked him, surprised.

“Well, they could hang him.”

“Wait! What?!? That could happen? They could actually kill him for- just for being what he is?” 

“Aye, tis a sin.”

Her insides felt like they were being squeezed by an anaconda. She knew homosexuality was frowned upon here, but she didn’t realize how dangerous it actually was.

“ I didn’t... I didn’t know. I thought...”

“ What? Where ye’re from, that wouldna happen?”

“No it wouldn’t.”

James was startled by that. Where in the world was she from? 

They sat there in a heavy silence. Each coming to terms with what the other had said.

“He must hate me now.” 

“Nay, I dinna think so.”

“How would you know?”

“ I don’t, but you canna think like that. From what I’ve seen, ye and John are close, and I have a feeling he wouldna be able to stay mad at ye fer long.”

“Why would you say that? How would you know?”

Jamie walked over to her and he held his hand out for her to grab. “ Ye willna know until ye talk to him lass. Come.”

Eliza stared at his hand, hating how right he was. Really, she was hating how scared she was. But he WAS right, she wouldn’t be able to fix this until she talked to him. 

She finally grabbed his hand and let him help her up, completely ignoring the little flash of heat that burned through her skin at his touch. She couldn’t take any more emotional turmoil at the moment.

————————

They arrived back at the manor in the early afternoon. They had rode Jamie’s horse back with Eliza sitting in front, on the saddle. Jamie’s thighs were wrapped around hers. He made sure her back was securely pressed into his chest so she wouldn’t fall. She was sure that he could probably feel her heart pounding. She hated to admit it, but it was nice being wrapped up in a mans arms. In his arms. She would never say that out loud of course.

“Well, I should get back to the stables, young Willie is probably driving everyone mad, waitin’ fer me.” He said with an amused grin after he reached up and lifted her off of the horse like she weighed nothing. Again, she was going to ignore the elated feeling she felt while he was holding her by her waist.

“ Yes, he’s seems very fond of you.” She said once her feet touched the ground and he stepped back to respect her space.

“Aye, and I, him....he also seems quite taken with ye my lady, he wouldna stop talkin about ye this mornin’. Lady Eliza this, Lady Eliza that.”

She blushed. “Well, I’m quite taken with him too. He’s a very handsome and sweet little boy, James.”

He looked down at her, something about the way she said that, like...like Jamie was the one responsible for the way he looked, like she knew that...nah...impossible.

“Aye, he is, he...he comes from a good family.”

“Yeah, he does.” She said wistfully. Wanting to tell him that she KNEW his secret and she needed to know how? Why? Was he in love with Willie’s mother? And why did that possibility bother her so much? She had so many questions, but now was not the time, she had another scandal to deal with. She sighed.

“I suppose I SHOULD go find Johnny. Will I um...see you tomorrow?” She looked up at him, locking eyes. Her deep, green jade meeting his icy blue orbs.

“Aye, my lady, I hope so.”

Those damn butterflies were back to haunt her, but she was beginning to think she didn’t mind it.

————————

She slowly made her back to the manor after departing from Jamie. Her cute little flirty butterflies from being around Jamie had turned into angry, nervous bats crashing around inside her stomach. She had no idea what she was going to say to Johnny. She wasn’t sure if he was mad or if she should be mad. All she knew was that he was her best friend and she did not want to lose him. And if marrying him was the only way to keep him maybe she could....

“Lady Eliza! There you are, my dear.” She looked up, surprised.

Lord Dunsany approached her with a huge grin on his face and excitedly grabbed her arm to lead her into the front room that was full of people. They were all happily conversing, drinks were in everyone’s hands, it looked like they were celebrating something.....Oh,no! The crashing bats immediately disappeared and were replaced with a hollow empty feeling.

“We are so excited for the news! I gathered everyone to celebrate and I know that Lord John wanted to wait for you but I couldn’t stop myself. Here, darling have some wine, for the toast.” He handed her a wine glass, which she took numbly and walked away to attend to the other guests.

She looked around the room, immediately locking eyes with Johnny who was standing with a crowd of people surrounding him. His hand was connected with Lady Isobel’s, the diamond on her ring finger was shining in the light of the room. Isobel had a smile on her face that was even larger than her father’s. After Eliza and John stared at each other for a few moments, he tilted his head toward the back door that led out to a large balcony. She swallowed all of the contents in her wine glass and with a slight nod towards him, she grabbed another glass from a nearby servant and then headed for the door.

She walked out to the edge of the balcony and looked out over the view. She could see hills of green that turned into the woods that looked like they went on forever. With everyone inside celebrating, it was quiet and peaceful outside. She inhaled deeply, savoring the seconds that she had before her world was flipped upside down. Again.

Lord John stepped out a moment later. He walked over towards her and stood next to her giving her more space than he normally would, knowing that she didn’t react well to being boxed in. He kept his body forward, not ready to look at her, not ready to see the hurt in her eyes that he knew would be there.

He had not meant to propose to Isobel yet, not at all. But as he was walking back from his awful conversation with Eliza, he ran into her. He was still holding the engagement ring in his hand and she had seen it immediately, automatically assuming it was for her. What could he do? It wouldn’t go over well if he said no, it wasn’t for her. He had to do it right then or he would never be able to.

“Eliza I....I don’t know what to say, with all honesty.”

“I don’t really know what to say either, Johnny. I didn’t realize that your engagement deadline actually ended today.” She said with bitterness.

“I’m so sorry Eliza, I didn’t....I wasn’t planning on asking Isobel, but I ran into her and I had the ring and I....”

“It’s alright, John. I get it.” She said rather shortly, trying to gather her thoughts. She didn’t even know how she felt about it. It had all happened so fast, she couldn’t possibly process it all. 

John turned his back to her then, also trying to gather his feelings. He couldn’t blame her for being upset.

“ You never call me John.” He said quietly after an uncomfortable silence. “I don’t like it.”

“ Well, I don’t like that my best friend proposed to me out of NOWHERE this morning, completely blindsiding me and then not even five hours later, I’m at his engagement party to another WOMAN! A woman who he hardly even knows!”

He turned to her then, disbelief in his eyes.

“You think this is what I wanted?!? I didn’t have a choice, Eliza!” He said in the same aggressive tone. 

She was about to retort when Jamie’s words came back to her. 

“If people knew what John was, it wouldna end well for him, he could even be hanged.”

John REALLY didn’t have a choice. She didn’t understand his world, but she understood him, she KNEW him and she knew he wouldn’t have done this if there was another way. She knew his actions today were not meant to hurt her, even if they did.

“Eliza?” He started to worry after she stood there for a few minutes, not saying anything.

“You’re right.” She whispered.

His mouth fell open, that was not what he was expecting her to say. 

“I’m sorry, Johnny. I know you don’t want this”

He laughed humorlessly. “I really don’t.”

She turned back to look out over the balcony. “But you have to because this is the way it has to be.” She said sadly.

He reached for her hand on top of the railing and gripped it like a lifeline.

“Yes.” He whispered. “This is how it has to be but... I won’t lose you, Eliza. You could stay here, with me. Isobel has already agreed, you are my family, you will be her family too. It really doesn’t have to be all that different between us.”

She gripped his hand back and turned towards him, seeing the hope in his eyes. She wanted to say yes, to let it be easy and stay here with Johnny. It wouldn’t be bad, she could stay with her best friend, be around sweet little William and not to mention she could be around a certain unbelievably handsome, red headed Viking. It wouldn’t be bad at all but...

“Johnny....I appreciate the offer but I....I can’t. There are things that I need to do...people that I need to help that I can’t if I stay in one place and I still need to...

“Go to Ireland?” 

She nodded sadly. “Yes, that, I still... I need to do that.”

He nodded back. “I know, I know you can’t stay, but I couldn’t not ask.” 

Unable to control her emotions anymore, she threw her arms around him, letting the tears she had been holding back come pouring out. He held her to him tightly, as a tear fell down his cheek. They stood there for a long time. 

He knew the day he was going to say goodbye to her was coming sooner than he could have imagined, but today was not the day. Today was a day for celebration, whether he truly wanted it or not.

He pulled back slightly and wiped the tears from her cheeks with his sleeve. She smiled up at him gratefully.

“Well, now that everything is out in the open, there is a party to go to, will you do me the honors of letting me be your escort, my dear?”

Eliza sniffed and wiped the rest her face. “ Well, if you don’t think I look like a drowned rat and you wouldn’t be too embarrassed to be seen with me, then yes.” She took his offered hand and walked back into the party with her dearest friend, soaking up his presence for as long as she could.

——————-

Eliza stayed at the party for a few hours, she played her part of the supportive best friend. She ate and drank and was merry, but she could only keep up the facade for so long. John was completely hammered, having been given drink after drink to celebrate, he played his part much better than she.

She slipped away unnoticed when the singing had started. Today was such a whirlwind of emotions for her, she just needed some fresh air and solitude. She walked through the garden, appreciating the quiet of the night.

She headed towards the large fountain in the center when she heard a voice mumbling quietly into the night. She came upon a large figure hunched down over a bed of blue flowers. She knew who it was when she saw the moonlight shining off of his head of bright, red hair. 

As she got closer, she could hear him speaking in Gaelic. She didn’t understand a word still, but it sounded like he was speaking to someone that wasn’t there. She didn’t want to interrupt, she tried to go around him quietly when she stepped on a twig and it snapped loudly.

“A dhia! Cò tha ann?” Jamie jumped up and went to reach for his blade, but stopped when he heard a familiar feminine voice.

“It’s me, it’s me! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you!”

“Och! I suppose it was yer turn to sneak up on me.” He smiled at her sheepishly.

“Yes, I suppose fair is fair. I AM sorry to interrupt whatever you were doing....what were you doing exactly?”

Even in the moonlight she could see the tip of his ears turn red.

“Oh I was just uh... praying.”

“Oh, well I’m sorry, I can just go...”

“No!” He shouted with panic, she gave him a surprised look.

“No” he said in a quieter, calmer tone, “No, I dinna wish ye to leave “

She contemplated it. She did come out here to be alone, but she didn’t want to leave Jamie’s presence either. She sat down at the edge of the water fountain looking up at him. He stood across from her. 

“So I take it ye found Lord John then.”

She nodded, “Yes, I just came from the engagement party actually.”

Jamie’s jaw dropped, “Really? Ye mean, ye and him, ye said yes?”

She laughed at the look on his face, “No, no, he asked Isobel, she gladly accepted, and the Dunsanys are quite thrilled with the match.”

Jamie let out a breath of relief and surprise, “Oh. I see.”

“ Yeah, it uh- it surprised me too, but this is what John needs to do and I will support him as his friend.”

“So they’ll be staying here then? Ye’ll stay too?” He tried to keep the hope out of his voice, but failed miserably. He didn’t know why but the thought of her leaving Helwater gave him an ache all over. 

“No” she said quietly, “No, he offered, but I’m not really...I’m not the type to stay in one place...I like to travel. And I don’t want to impose on Johnny’s new life. He needs to focus on being a husband and I need to... well, I don’t know yet.”

“Ye don’t have anywhere to go, lass?”

“ I mean, I do, I do, I just...I’ve been with Johnny for so long, I think that I forgot what I did without him.” She said with chagrin.

He reached for her hand mimicking his move from earlier, “Well, ye have time, ye dinna have to leave right away then?”

She looked at their hands again, relishing in the feeling of his touch. She squeezed his hand with both of hers and looked up into his eyes.

“No, no, I don’t have to leave right away.”


	8. Chapter 8

The next day, Eliza found herself alone with young William. Johnny and Isobel were out doing whatever engaged couples do and the elder Dunsanys were doing whatever wealthy, noble people do with their free time. 

Willie usually hung out with his nanny, but he had begged her to let him be with Eliza for the day. It took some convincing from him, but the nanny reluctantly agreed. Eliza didn’t mind of course, the little boy was a welcome distraction from the uncertainty that was her life at the moment.

She knelt down in front of him, “So your Grace, what shall we do today?”

“We should see Mac, you can watch me ride like you promised!” 

She was pretty sure that she made no such promise, but seeing the excitement in the boy’s eyes warmed her heart. Of course the thought of seeing Jamie again didn’t have an effect on her at all. Not at all. None whatsoever. Well....maybe a little. 

They made their way to the stables, Willie skipped along holding Eliza’s hand, babbling on about his horse, with not a care in the world. She laughed at his happiness and skipped along right with him. 

Jamie was unloading the last bales of hay from the cart when he heard them. The sight of them laughing and skipping brought a smile to his face. Seeing his son and Lady Eliza together gave him a special feeling in his heart that he couldn’t describe. 

After yesterday, he couldn’t deny the feelings that arose in him whenever he was in Eliza’s presence. The way his heart clenched when he thought Eliza was coming from her own engagement party was almost too much for him to bare. Of course he was attracted to her, a blind man would be and yes, he had a fondness for her. He may even call it an infatuation of sorts, but he could never act on it. 

He didn’t know much about her but he knew that he was much older than her. And besides that, he didn’t have anything to offer her in terms of being a prospect for marriage, he was not what one would call respectable. Although yesterday proved to him that she was not like other women and probably wouldn’t care about such things.

She was head strong, fiercely independent, and she could obviously take care of herself with the way she pinned him down yesterday. And there was something about the way she spoke so boldly, like she didn’t care about what people thought of her, it almost reminded him of his wif-

“Mack! Mack!” His thoughts were interrupted by his illegitimate son flinging his arms around his legs with such force he almost toppled over.

“Whoa there!!!! Careful, bhalaich! Ye’ll knock down the whole stables.”

He looked up at Jamie sheepishly, still holding on to him. “Can we go for a ride Mack, please?? I want Lady Eliza to come with us down to the woods. Please, Mack, please!”

“The woods? Ye ken ye’re not allowed that far from the house, Willie.”

“But we’ve done it before and it’ll only be for a little while, no one will have to know! And besides Lady Eliza will say it’s okay and grandfather can not be mad at her.” He hugged Jamie’s legs tighter and looked up at him with his big beautiful blue eyes, pleading with him.

Jamie looked up from his adorable, manipulative little son and met Eliza’s eyes that were full of surprise.

“I spose ye didna ken that’s what ye were in for.”

She laughed at Willie’s antics. “No, I was told that I was just to be a spectator for a bit. And I don’t think it would be a good idea to sneak around with my gracious host’s grandson to places where he should not be.”

Willie had turned towards her and she saw his shoulders fall at her words. She walked closer to him and dropped to her knees to be eye level with him and whispered to him in a loud, conspiratorial voice.

“But I suppose if he doesn’t know about it, it won’t hurt him...just this once.”

Willie threw his arms around her and cheered, but Eliza held him back for a moment.

“I mean that is...only if it’s okay with Jam- Mac” she looked up at the said Scotsman with a timid look.

He smiled softly, “Aye, it’s okay wit me.”

—————————-

The three of them had a lovely day riding through the property, enjoying the warm weather. When they arrived back to the stables, Willie’s nanny was waiting for him, tapping her foot. Exclaiming that the young Earl was late for his lunch and tutoring lesson, she gave Eliza a dirty look and promptly dragged the boy away.

Eliza and Jamie looked at each other and burst into laughter.

“Oops.” Eliza said while trying to smother her giggles. Jamie looked at her then with something that she could only describe as a smoldering look. Her butterflies were back and they had brought all of their friends. She cleared her throat and sat down at the very same bench from yesterday. Jamie blinked and then sat down beside her. Keeping as much distance from her as he could.

They sat there in comfortable silence, enjoying the heat from the sun.

“So...what were you praying about last night?” Eliza decided to break the silence, her curiosity getting the best of her.

Jamie looked at her, startled. He was surprised by the question and was not sure how much he wanted to tell her.

“I was....talking to my wife, actually.” He answered after a moment of indecision.

It was Eliza’s turn for her jaw to drop open. She tried to ignore the tight squeeze of her heart. “Your wife? I...I didn’t know you were married?” 

“I was...I uh-I lost her...twas a long time ago.”

“I’m sorry, James. Is that who you were thinking of yesterday? The person you lost.”

“Aye, but...not only her, my daughter, my son, my parents, my brothers. So many good souls have left this earth, but for some cruel reason, I reckon, I was spared, stuck here without them.”

Eliza was quiet for a long time. She could feel her heart breaking for him. She had felt like she was the only one who had lost so many people. The only one destined to be alone forever. Yet here was a man. A normal, human man who had suffered just as much, if not more than her. And he was still standing, he was still TRYING. It was people like him that made her want to give a damn, that made her not give up. She was starting to see why John felt so strongly for him, why SHE felt strongly for him.

“I know what you mean.” She said quietly.

He looked down at her, “Usually I wouldna think so, but for some reason, I believe that ye do know and I am sorry ye’ve had to feel what I have felt, lass.”

“ I am sorry for you too...but we wouldn’t be who we are now, we wouldn’t know what it’s like to love someone, what it’s like to have a gift and to appreciate it while you have it.”

“Aye.”

“Tell me about her.”

“Who?”

“Your wife, silly.”

Jamie hesitated, “Oh, I - I uh- Claire, her name was Claire.”

“That’s a beautiful name, was she Scottish ?”

He laughed, “No, no, she was a sass- was British, she had uh- got lost and wound up in Scotland where I met her. We were kind of forced to marry not long after we met but I loved her deeply, I always did and I still do.” He hadn’t spoken of her in so long, it felt wrong yet right at the same time.

“How long were you together?”

“About 3 years and then... “ he swallowed thickly and stood up and walked a few feet away from Eliza, turning his back to her. He fell silent, unable to continue.

“I’m sorry, James, I shouldn’t of asked.”

“It’s alright, I just...I dinna usually speak of her to anybody. I havena even said her name out loud in many years.”

“She was very lucky to have you, someone who loved her so much.”

He turned back towards Eliza, his eyes shiny with unshed tears. “Nah, I was the lucky one.” 

He sat back down next to her, a comfortable silence fell over them until Jamie’s curiosity got the better of him.

“Have you ever...have you ever been in love?”

She didn’t know why she was surprised that he asked. She was nosing her way into his business, it was only fair for her to share as well...only a little of course.

“Yes.” She said quietly. “A long time ago, he-he was my first...everything. “

“But ye didna marry?”

“ No, but I think....we were together when I was very young, we were happy. I loved him so much and I knew he felt the same but then.....something happened and we couldn’t....we couldn’t be together anymore, not really. We tried for a while, but he left me, thinking that it was best for me. He didn’t think he was good enough for me.”

James watched her as she spoke. She kept her voice stable, quiet, but he could hear the misery in her words, could see the sadness in her posture. He felt his heart breaking for her.

“He was gone for a couple of years and then....then he came back and he wanted us to be together, he said everything that I had ever dreamed of. I was so surprised. But being in his arms again, it was like being in heaven.

He lived in L- in another village than mine, so we didn’t see each other every day, but we visited the other frequently. We made as much time as possible for each other. It was the best two months of my life. And I thought maybe then, maybe we could have married and lived happily ever after but then-“ 

It was her turn to turn away from Jamie. The thought of Angel was almost too much to bear. Speaking of him aloud for the first time, since she came to this god forsaken place, made her feel like her guts were being ripped out of her all over again. 

“Did he-did he die, lass?” 

She took a deep breath, and turned back to him, tears slowly falling down her face.

“Yes” she whispered. “I’ll...I’ll never see him again.”

Jamie stood up and pulled her into his arms, trying to give her comfort. Speaking of Claire, and hearing of Eliza’s heartbreak stirred feelings inside of him he had long forgotten. He supposed he was seeking comfort as well.

“Much, a nighean, much” “Ceart gu leòr.”

He whispered to her in Gaelic, just like Angel used to, it sounded different, she supposed the words were different. It was meant to be soothing, but it became too much for her. The similarities between Jamie and Angel were hitting her in the face. She gently pulled away from him and put as much distance between them as she could.

“I’m sorry lass, I shouldna have done that, I just dinna like seeing ye so upset, it was inappropriate of me.”

She shook her head and took a step back towards him, “No, no, I uh- thank you. I didn’t mean to cry all over you.”

“Och. It’s alright.” He stared down at her, hoping she wasn’t too offended by him invading her personal space.

“I haven’t talked about- about him in a long time.”

“No even to John?”

She shook her head no. Jamie was surprised, the two seemed so close. For some reason he was almost...pleased that she thought she could trust him enough to tell him something that she hadn’t even told her best friend.

“ Well, ye can talk to me anytime, a nighean. “

“Annie Ann? What does that mean?”

He smiled at her, “Ah-knee-on. It only means, girl, lass.”

“Oh.” They stood there for a bit longer.

“Well, I spose I should bid ye good day, Eliza, I am sure Willie will come back looking for you.”

She nodded her head and turned around towards the house reluctantly.

“James?” She stopped and turned back to him.

“Aye?”

“Were you...were you in love with Willie’s mother?” 

“WHAT?!” Eliza knew she shouldn’t have asked, she knew that she was pushing boundaries, but since they were already over sharing, she just had the urge to shove her foot in her mouth. 

Jamie’s face had drained of all color and his mouth gaped open like a fish.

“What...why would ye...what do ye mean to imply by that??”

She held her hands up, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean... I just...I mean.. Come on James, he has your damn eyes for god sakes! And the way he holds himself, the way you look at him! It’s so obvious who his father is!”

He was shocked. He knew that Willie inherited some minor physical traits from him but he didn’t think anyone else could see them, especially not someone he had just met. Eliza mistook his silence for anger.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. And I won’t James! I would never say anything. I just... I just...I should go. Goodbye, James.”

She turned to leave, for real this time when Jamie reached out and grabbed her arm.

“No. No, I wasna in love with Willie’s mother.” He said quietly.

“Oh. But you...”

“It- uh... it’s not something I want to get in to, but just know it was a mistake, being with her, I didna want to, believe me. But Willy...he’s a gift...a gift that I dinna deserve. And I only want what’s best for him.”

Eliza put her hand on the one that was still on her arm and looked up into his eyes. “I know that you do” she whispered. “I know.”

They stood there, practically gazing into each other’s souls. Eliza’s eyes focused on his lips, she could feel his breath against her face. Just a few more inches and she could reach up and-

“Well, I shall bid ye goodnight, lass.” Jamie had stepped back and bowed to her before she did anything foolish.

“Yes, yes. Well umm...Good- Goodnight James.”

“Goodnight Eliza.” 

—————————

The next two days Eliza had avoided the stables like a plague. She had shared so much with Jamie, had even almost kissed him! Her heart was in so much turmoil, what with Johnny getting married and her not knowing what her next move should be. She needed some time away from the handsome Scot, time to clear her head.

She went down the stairs that morning to find Johnny, she wanted to spend time alone with him before she left, which she was planning on doing very soon. But instead of finding Johnny, she found little William, alone, curled up on the floor crying his eyes out.

“Willie! What’s wrong, darling??”

He looked up at her voice and flung himself into her arms and cried harder. She hugged him back tightly, rubbing his back soothingly, like she used to for Dawn. Her heart clenched at the memory, she pushed it aside and focused on Willie.

“There, there, sweetheart, it’s alright.” She held him until his crying turned into dry hiccups and he finally calmed down.

She pulled away from him, to look into his tear stained, chubby sweet face, “There now. What is it that you’re so upset about, sweetheart?”

He rubbed his eyes and sniffed his little nose, “Mack.”

“Mack? What? Did something happen to him?” She asked alarmingly.

“He’s leaving and won’t let me go with him” he said solemnly.

“What?! He’s leaving? When?”

“He said in a couple of days, but he can’t, Lady Eliza, he just can’t!” The little boy’s eyes started to well up with tears again. She hugged him back to her, almost feeling the same way that Willie did.

—————-

Eliza immediately went in search for Jamie after consoling the young William. She had held him for a bit longer and then had his nanny put him down for a nap. The poor boy was so distraught. It made her angry that Jamie could just leave him like that. Leave his son like that.

She found him down by the pond, but he wasn’t alone. Johnny was there, they were facing each other, having an intense conversation. They seemed to come to an agreement of sorts and shook hands, then Johnny turned away and saw her. He nodded his head at her and hugged her shoulder as he walked by, reading her mind.

“Go easy on him.” He whispered to her as he went, leaving Jamie and Eliza facing each other.

“So, you’re leaving? Just like that?”

“Aye. I am.” He said quietly.

“It’s not....it’s not because of what I said is it? Because I didn’t mean-“

He held his hands up, “No, no, well yes, it is. But I have been thinkin of leavin fer a long time. I ken that I would have ta soon and ye being able to spot the truth right away, it tells me now is the time.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.” 

“Nah, I would have decided to go either way. I would never want to do anything to jeopardize Willie’s way of life and if people start questioning his heritage, it would no go well for him.”

She nodded her head. She could tell that it wasn’t an easy decision for him to make.

“Well, I’ll uh-Willie won’t be the only one sad to see you go.”

He could hear the hesitation in her voice like she wanted to say more. He wanted her to, he wanted her to tell him that she would miss him, like he would miss her even though they barely knew each other. 

After their talk the other day, he had felt so close to her, he was drawn to her like a moth to a flame. The thought of never seeing her again made his heart ache and before he even thought about what he was saying, he opened his mouth.

“Ye could come wit me.”


	9. Chapter 9

“Ye could come wit me.”

Eliza’s mouth fell open in shock.

“What? Are you serious?”

He felt his cheeks flame with embarrassment and he ducked his head.

“Well, it-uh-I only meant since ye have nowhere to go, ye could come wit me, to Scotland, my home, just until ye decide what ye want to do next.... if ye wanted.” 

Eliza blinked.

“You really want ME to come with you? To Scotland? You and me? Traveling all that way? Together? That’s- I don’t think that’s a good idea. We hardly know each other and I wouldn’t want to intrude on you-“

“No, no, ye’re right I shouldna have said it, I’m sorry, I didna mean to offend ye, Eliza.” He went to walk past her, trying not to show his disappointment.

She watched him start to walk away and she felt panic rising in her chest. If he walked away now, she may never see him again. That thought brought dread to her heart. She couldn’t deny that the idea of being alone with him for such a long time was enticing. And she HAD gotten use to having a traveling companion the past year, she really didn’t like the idea of being completely alone again. 

But did she really want to go to Scotland of all places? She couldn’t stay in Helwater and she didn’t think she was ready to go to Ireland, she wasn’t ready to deal with Angelu-

“James! Wait!!!”

He stopped when he was about twenty feet from her. He slowly turned around, not wanting to get his hopes up. She walked closer to him, her heart in her throat.

“Yes. Yes, I’ll come with you.”

——————————

The next day Eliza found herself packing.

After she had said yes to Jamie’s offer, the rest of the day was a whirlwind. They had talked a bit more and then Johnny had come to get her for another dinner party. She was hoping for a chance to tell him of her impending traveling plans, but they had zero opportunities to talk alone. And of course, Johnny had disappeared with Isobel after dinner. 

Jamie wanted to leave in two days which meant she had to get all of her affairs in order quickly. She was just trying to stuff her favorite green dress into a large bag when there was a knock at her door. Before she had a chance to register the sound, the door opened, revealing her best friend.

“Eliza? Are you in here? I’ve been looking every-“ John stopped talking when he saw the room in disarray and the large amount of clothes on the bed.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like, Johnny? I’m packing.” She said cheekily, annoyed that he just barged into her room, even though she had done the same thing to him many a time. Even one time when he was in the company of a blonde gentleman, who just happened to be on his knees in front of John when Eliza walked in, but that incident was never spoken of.

“Well, yes, I see that, Eliza, but, but-“

She looked at him with pity and spoke to him in a gentler tone.

“Johnny, you knew that I was going to leave soon.”

“Yes, but I didn’t think- I didn’t know that you were leaving THIS soon.” He sat down heavily on what little available space was left on the bed.

She sighed and sat down next to him, “I didn’t think so either, but an opportunity has come up and I need to leave tomorrow morning.”

“An opportunity? Tomorrow morning? That’s sooner than- wait, Jamie is leaving tomorrow morning.” 

Eliza got up then and faced away from him, pretending to look for something, “Oh, is he?”

“Eliza.” He said her name sternly. “Is this opportunity you speak of, does it have to do with Jamie?...Eliza! Look at me.”

She turned and looked down at him sheepishly. “Okay, okay, he may have asked me to go to Scotland with him and I MAY have said yes.”

His eyes nearly bulged out of his head with disbelief.

“You’re going to Scotland? With James??” He said, scandalized.

“Yes! You say it like it’s a bad thing.”

“Well I just, I mean you don’t even know him, Eliza.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, “Maybe not very well, but you know him, you’ve always spoken so highly of him. Is there a problem with him?”

“Well, no, I just didn’t think that you two would...I didn’t know that you two were-uh- you know?” He raised his eyebrows suggestively, blushing furiously at the same time.

“What?? No!!!! No!! I just met the man! Jesus Johnny! I would think you would know me better than that!”

He looked away bashfully. “I’m sorry, I am just surprised. And perhaps I may be a little...”

She stared at him from across the room, “A little jealous?” She asked quietly, knowing his answer may change her plans entirely.

“Yes, a little that.” He nodded reluctantly.

“Johnny, I know that you have...feelings for James and....I won’t go with him, if you don’t want me to. He just...he offered and I said yes before I really thought about it, and I AM sorry that I didn’t think about how you would feel. But just so you know, I never planned on being anything more than friends with him.”

He laughed out loud then. “Please Eliza, I may be a lot of things, but I am no fool. I saw the way he looked at you yesterday, the way YOU looked at him.”

She blushed furiously. “Johnny, there isn’t anything....” she sighed, knowing she couldn’t lie to him. She WAS attracted to James, who wouldn’t be? But she certainly was not planning on pursuing anything romantic with him. Buffy and relationships were very unmixy things, she had learned that the hard way. Perhaps going with James wasn’t the best idea after all.

Just as she opened her mouth to tell Johnny that he was right, he interrupted her. 

“You should go with him.”

“What?” She asked in surprise.

“You should go.”

“But I thought you were jealous.”

He smiled at her gently, “Oh! I AM jealous, unbelievably so. But...James Fraser is a good man, a man of honor, someone who would never.. never want me the way I want him. I accepted it a long time ago.” He said sadly, bowing his head.

“Johnny, I-“

“You should go with him.” He repeated.

She looked at him thoughtfully. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” He stood up and wrapped his arms around her shoulders with a grin on his handsome face, “Besides it’ll be nice, knowing that my friend is with someone who can protect them.”

She rolled her eyes, “Johnny! You know that I don’t need someone to protect me.”

“Oh, I know, I didn’t mean YOU, dear. “ he smiled at her cheekily. She laughed and playfully shoved him away. 

She turned back to her half-packed bags and inhaled deeply. Finally feeling some semblance of peace after the emotionally draining week she had.

————————-

Before Eliza knew it, it was the next day and she was standing in front of the door to the Dunsany manor with little William clinging to her leg, begging her not to go. She crouched down beside him, the sight of his sweet little face twisted into such anguish brought tears to her eyes.

“Oh, Willie, you know that I would love to stay with you, but I have to go. This isn’t goodbye forever, I will see you again, your grace, I promise.”

She wasn’t sure if she was lying to make him feel better, or herself. Either way she hoped it turned out that she wasn’t lying at all. She really did hope to see him again. The little boy flung himself into her arms one last time and she hugged him to her tightly.

She looked out the door, down the massive front steps, where Isobel and John were patiently waiting to bid them farewell. James was approaching with the reigns of their horses in his hands, a solemn look on his face.

She lifted the little Earl up into her arms with ease and carried him down the steps. She drew closer to the engaged couple and Isobel opened her arms to receive her precious cargo. She kissed the top of his head and handed him over hesitantly.

The second she let go of the boy, John immediately wrapped her up in his arms sweeping her off her feet. She hugged him back fiercely. After a few moments, she pulled back, gazing into his eyes. Words were no longer necessary, they had already said everything they needed to. She nodded her head at him, mentally telling him it was okay, they would see each other again. 

He nodded back slowly and reluctantly set her back on the ground. She looked over at Isobel who had also set Willie on his feet and was holding onto his shoulder. Jamie, having handed the reigns over to the stable boy, was kneeling in front of William, whispering to him. Eliza could see the tears threatening to fall down his face. She gave Isobel and Johnny one last look, then promptly turned and jumped up onto her horse, not wanting to intrude on the family moment.

She watched Jamie walk away from the new family, the tears had fallen by then, she could feel his heartbreak permeating the air. He jumped up onto his horse next to her, he took a deep breath and with a nod in her direction, he kicked the side of the horse and slowly started to trot away. She watched Willie break free from Isobel’s hold and yell for Jamie. Eliza could see Jamie’s shoulders shaking from his quiet sobs, but he refused to turn around. She did turn however and gave John one more teary smile and followed Jamie’s path into the unknown.

—————————  
The next couple of days Jamie and Eliza traveled in near silence. Each of them nursing a broken heart over their respective losses. On the third morning, Eliza had woken up, feeling better, ready for her next adventure. 

They had set up camp at a quiet little spot near a creek. They each had their own little tents on opposite sides of the fire, giving each other space. When she arose from her tent, she stretched languidly. She was wearing her trousers with a tank top of sorts that she had made out of an old man shirt and a corset she had manipulated into a makeshift bra, not entirely uncomfortable, but not exactly comfortable either.

She looked around the campsite discovering that she was alone. It wasn’t unusual, in the short days they had been together, she noticed that James had a ritual of sorts in the morning. He would always get up earlier than her and would leave for a while to take care of his “man things” she assumed.

She decided now was a good time to have a quick wash before James came back. She went along the creek a little bit aways from the camp site. Just as she was about to take off her tank top she heard a voice, murmuring quietly. 

She moved a little further up the creek and saw James kneeling by the water, whispering like he was when she caught him in the Dunsany garden. Except this time, he was shirtless. She gasped out loud, dropping the soap and towels she had brought with her.

His body was more perfect than she had imagined. He had beautiful, tanned skin covering his bulging muscles which were in all of the right places. He was the perfect example of a Greek god, a Viking warrior. But that wasn’t what surprised her. 

There were deep scars all along his back, spreading out like spider webs. It looked like he had been mangled in a horrible, horrible way. She had seen a lot of gruesome things in her day, but never scars like that. She had a few of her own, of course. She supposed if she didn’t heal as fast as she did, her body would probably look just as mangled.

Jamie had turned around at the sound of her gasp. He immediately grabbed his shirt and threw it on, out of habit more than anything else.

“Och! Lass, ye startled me.”

“I’m sorry” she said in a quiet voice, “ I... what happened? To your back?”

He looked across the water and was silent for a long moment. No one had seen his back in a long time, he had almost forgot about it. Almost.

“I was flogged, twice in a week. There was a uh- British soldier, had it out fer me. It was a long, long time ago.”

Eliza had stepped closer towards him. “Can I-Can I see?”

He looked back at her, seeing the curiosity in her eyes. He slowly turned around and lifted off his shirt. She stepped right up to him and slowly reached her hand up and lightly grazed the raised skin. James shivered at her touch. She moved back.

“I’m sorry. Do they hurt?”

He turned back around and stared down at her, “Nah, I barely remember they’re there sometimes.”

She gazed into his eyes for a moment and then slowly started to lift up her own shirt. James reached out and stopped her hand.

“Och, Eliza! What are ye doin lass?” She chuckled softly and pushed his hands away and pulled her shirt up to just under her breasts, revealing her stomach with a wicked deep scar that went across her abdomen from left to right.

“A Dhia” James kneeled down in front of her to see it, shocked that someone would try to hurt her, kill her from the looks of it. “How did ye-“

“A British soldier. Apparently they’re not too fond of me either, well unless your name is Johnny of course.” 

He smiled slightly at that, still in shock. “I’m sorry, a nighean.”

“Don’t be, it was a while ago, when I first got here, before I met Johnny. I uh- I have worst scars, you just can’t see them.” She whispered the last part. Jamie looked up at her then. The more time he spent with this woman, the more she impressed him. 

“Ye’re a brave wee thing, aren’t ye?” 

She smiled softly, “You did not just call me wee again!” 

He laughed gently. “Well, ye are wee, ye canna say I’m wrong!”

She laughed with him and let it go, the two stood there in a peaceful silence.

Jamie slowly realized how close he was to her. Her beautiful, tanned, bare skin was displayed in front of him. And with him, only in his trousers, they must have made for a scandalous sight. If he just reached out and touched her-

He slowly rose and turned to put his shirt on.

“Well, uh...we should take off soon, there’s a long road ahead of us. Aye?”  
He headed off to the campsite without waiting for her reply. She watched him go helplessly.

“Aye” she whispered to the woods, not sure that she was ready for what she had gotten herself into this time.


	10. Chapter 10

After their impromptu show and tell that morning, Eliza and Jamie rode on throughout the day in a companionable silence. A little past noon, Eliza was the one to finally break it.

“So...uh- where are we going exactly? I know you said Scotland, but where in Scotland?”

“Och! Lallybroch, it’s been my family’s home fer centuries.”

“Oh, really? You have family there now?” With the way he stuck around Helwater, she had thought he didn’t have any family left.

“Aye. My sister, Jenny and her husband, Ian, my best mate since we were wee lads. And their herd of bairns, and one grand bairn, last I heard.”

“Bairns?” She asked, confused. Jamie looked over at her and smiled softly.

“It means babes, children. Ye never spoke to a Scotsman before, have ye lass?”

Eliza felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment, “Umm. No, I guess not, my-uh- who I told you about before, he was from Ireland, does that count?”

Jamie made a look of disgust, “No, lass, that doesna count. The Irish are no the same, they’re a buncha numpties, they have no pride, no respect, no like the Scots. Don’t ever go round tellin a Scotsman he’s like an Irishman, lass, it willna end well.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that, I thought- but don’t you both speak Gaelic?”

If it was possible Jamie looked even more offended. “No, the Irish speak ‘GAY-lik’, we Scots speak ‘GAA-lik’, it’s verra different.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“Ye didna, lass, but if ye’re gonna be stayin wit me and mine, maybe ye should learn the language.”

“Oh, really? And YOU’RE going to teach me? Your whole language?”

“Aye, no the whole thing, just a few choice words, ye ken?”

She gave him a wry smile, “I hate to tell you this, but I was never a very good student, I took French for three years and I can only say one complete sentence.”

“And what’s that, lass?”

“Oui j’ai bien joui.” She said with a proud smile, full of confidence.

Jamie nearly fell off his horse, “What did ye just say?!” 

Eliza’s smile faltered, her confidence starting to slip due to Jamie’s reaction, “I envy you.”

“That doesna mean that.” He said with in a serious tone.

Her smile disappeared altogether. “What does it mean?”

His cheeks and the tips of his ears took on a deep shade of red, “It means....well....it means ‘I want to sleep wit ye.’” 

It was her turn to almost fall off of her horse. “What?! Oh my god!!! I definitely did not mean to say that to you!...I mean, not that I wouldn’t want to.... I MEAN NOT THAT I WANT TO... I just...You ARE very handsome and I imagine that we would have a great...NOT THAT I HAVE IMAGINED ANYTHING HAPPENING BETWEEN US... I JUST-“ 

Jamie stopped his horse then and burst out into uncontrollable laughter, tears started pouring down his cheeks.

Eliza stopped her horse too, first feeling affronted by his laughter, but then she met his eyes and broke into a chuckle. After a few moments, she cleared her throat.

“Well, I think I’m gonna go die of embarrassment now. It was nice meeting you and everything, James.” She dramatically jumped down from her horse and started going through her bags.

“Och! Ye didna have to be embarrassed, a nighean.” He jumped down from his horse as well. “I didna even really hear what ye said.”

She looked over at him with a look of disbelief. He ducked his head and turned to grab his flask of whiskey from his bag and took a long swig. He turned back to Eliza and held the flask out to her.

“How bout a wee dram?” 

Eliza gave him a skeptical look, but then took the offered drink and chugged down a few gulps before she even thought about what she was doing. She pulled the flask away from her mouth and coughed violently, her face twisted up comically.

“What the hell is that?”

“It’s whiskey, lass, Scottish whiskey, a bit stronger than most.” He smiled down at her, amused by her reaction.

“A bit stronger?? I really don’t think you’re meant to DRINK that.” She handed the flask back to him in disgust. He took it back with a smug smile and took another huge swig.

“Och! It’s no so bad.”

“Really? You’re a-“

All of a sudden, a scream ripped through the air. Eliza immediately took off, running towards the sound. Jamie was right behind her. He was surprised how fast she was, he had to run hard to keep up with her.

“Eliza!! Wait!!!” 

They finally reached a clearing in the woods. There was an old, worn tent set up, clothes and bottles were strewn about. There were three men, they looked like drifters, wearing dirty, ripped clothing. One of the men had a woman pressed up against a tree, her dress was torn, tears were pouring down her face. Eliza saw red.

She burst into the clearing, “Let her go NOW!” She said in a calm, deadly voice. The three men turned as one, surprised at the interruption.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” One of the men came towards Eliza.

Jamie grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him.

“Och! Ye heard the lass, let her go!” He stood up at his full 6’4 height. His whole demeanor changed from the sweet, charming man that Eliza had come to know, into a warrior, ready to battle.

“Oh, that’s what we should do, is it? What if we keep her and take your woman as well, you can go along your way and no one will get hurt.” The man closest to them said.

Eliza scoffed loudly. 

Jamie pinched her arm and whispered for her to be quiet. She rolled her eyes, but didn’t say a word.

“Ye will do no such thing. Both lasses will be comin’ with me.”

“We’ll just have to see about that. Come on, boys, let’s teach our man here a lesson about interferin’ in things he doesn’t understand.”

All three men started to come towards Jamie with their blades drawn. Jamie pulled out two blades seemingly out of thin air. 

“Aye, I always loved a good lesson.” 

“Run, lass! Now!” He turned towards Eliza to make sure she listened to him, but his mouth dropped open at the sight of her. She had pulled two blades as well and had a fierce, determined look in her eye, the same one she had when she attacked him near the creek.

“Why? You think you get to have all of the fun around here?” 

And with that she lunged at the man closest to her, and viciously slashed his arm open. The man dropped his blade to the ground out of surprise and Eliza ducked down and swept his feet out from under him with her leg, making him hit his head on a rock as he landed on his back, effectively knocking him out.

Jamie had been so surprised by her attacking the man that he didn’t see the remaining two men coming at him. One of them grabbed his arms from behind while the other punched him repeatedly in the stomach, hard. 

Once Eliza had taken down her opponent she ran towards the man beating Jamie and threw her whole body into him, taking them both to the ground. Eliza and her opponent rolled back up onto her feet.

“You know? I like a woman who has some fight in her. It’s always more fun when they struggle.”

Eliza curled her lip in disgust, “Yes, I’m sure that’s the only way you can ever touch a woman. But don’t worry, now you will be the one whose struggling.”

He sneered at her and punched her in the face with all of his strength. He expected her to drop to the floor, unconscious. But she only turned her head with the blow, she turned back around and smiled at him with her now bloody lip.

“Is that really all you got, big boy?” The man growled at her angrily and threw himself at her in the same manner she had done, but Eliza was ready for it, she side stepped him and elbowed him in his side. He grunted in pain and turned to grab her but she was too quick, she kicked him in his chest with such force, he flew into the tree near by, hitting his head as well, rendering him unconscious.

“A 'dìoghaltas aingeal”

Eliza turned at Jamie’s voice. Jamie had broken free of his captor when Eliza attacked the other man. They had fought fast and dirty, Jamie triumphantly stabbed the man in the shoulder and then punched him in the face, knocking him out as well. 

“What did you say?” She asked nervously, Jamie was looking at her like she had grown another head. She knew she shouldn’t have fought so fiercely, but it had been so long since she had a good brawl. She couldn’t really control herself.

“A 'dìoghaltas aingeal. It means Avenging Angel. Where did ye- ye’re hurt.”

He came over to her and touched her face, pulling her close to him so he could get a better look at her bloody lip. She gently pushed him back.

“I’m fine, James. Just a scratch. And uh.. I’m no angel. Not at all.” She laughed nervously. “What about you? Are you hurt??” She looked him over, making sure he wasn’t bodily harmed.

“No, lass, I’m alright, but ye-“

They were interrupted by a loud sniffling. Eliza smacked her head, she had nearly forgotten about the whole reason they were fighting the men in the first place. She ran over to the girl with the torn dress, who was sitting up against the tree now, having watched the whole thing from there.

“I’m so sorry. Are YOU alright??” Eliza kneeled down in front of her. She saw some deep cuts on her face, a black eye, and scratches on her arms. 

“Did they- were they able to-“ the girl shook her head. She was staring at Eliza with awe.

“No.” She whispered. “No, they didn’t have time to, thanks to you.” 

Buffy smiled softly. Relieved that she made it there in time. 

“Good. Good. Well don’t worry, you’re safe now. I’ll get you cleaned up and James and I will take you to the nearest town, alright?”

The girl nodded her head gratefully. Eliza held her arms out and helped the poor girl stand up, she took the girls arm and put it around her shoulder and started to half carry the girl back towards their horses. 

Jamie had also been staring at Eliza in awe. He blinked out of his trance when he heard the girl grunt in pain when Eliza pulled her up. 

“Here, let me take her. It’s easier fer me.” Eliza gratefully handed the girl over to James. Normally she would argue with him, claiming she could easily carry the girl over her shoulder, but she thought that she may have already freaked him out with her abnormal fighting skills. That was probably enough showing off of her abilities, for today anyways.

They made it back to their horses quickly, having not gone too far from them. Jamie gently sat the girl down on a log. Eliza bent down and started fussing over the girl, thoroughly checking for anymore injuries.

“James, can you please grab my first ai- my bag, the red one with all of the bandages and a blanket please?”

Jamie went to grab the items she asked for. He found her red bag easily and grabbed his tartan. He wrapped it around the girl’s shoulders and opened the bag for Eliza.

“Thank you. Will you grab the alcohol and some bandages?”

Jamie reached in and was surprised to find that he was very familiar with what was inside. There were bandages, tonics, herbs, alcohol, it was the sort of things that Claire always had on her. 

“Are ye- are ye a healer, Eliza?” He asked her as he handed over the alcohol.

She shook her head. “No, no, I just um- well I tend to get hurt..a lot actually. So I like to keep some simple medical supplies with me, just in case. You know, for these sort of situations.”

“I see. And do ye...do ye get into these sort of situations a lot?”

She looked over at him. “Define..a lot.”

Jamie laughed. “Ye are a rare woman, Eliza Winters.”

She smiled shyly. “Well I think you are quite unique yourself, James Fraser.

————————————————-

After Eliza had cleaned up the girl, they had rode to the nearest town which was only a couple of hours away. They found an inn that would take the poor girl and help her. They had also booked two rooms for themselves, having been exhausted from their long day, Eliza was looking forward to sleeping in a real bed. Just as she was carrying her bags into her room, James gently grabbed her arm.

“Would ye uh- Would ye like to have dinner with me? There’s a tavern, just a couple of buildings down.”

Eliza smiled up at him, delighted by his shy invitation.

“A real bed and real food at an actual table?? Careful Fraser, you’ll spoil a girl.”

He ducked his head, she saw the tip of his ears turn pink.

“Well it’s the least I could do, ye deserve a lot more than that, lass, believe me.” 

It was her turn to blush.

——————

They were sitting at a table in the middle of the tavern, it was rather late for dinner, so there wasn’t much of a crowd.

“So, tell me how did ye do it?”

Eliza looked at Jamie, confused. “Do what?”

“Take those men down like that! I’ve never seen a woman who was able to fight like that....not many men either.”

She blushed prettily. “Oh. Well....there was a man who taught me, he taught me everything I know...he was uh- more of a father to me than my real one ever was.” Her voice had gotten softer.

“Aye, but that doesna explain how ye could take down a man- TWO men that were three-four times yer size!”

“Fighting isn’t about whose bigger James. It’s all about speed, agility, leverage. Yes being bigger helps, but not if you can’t catch me.” She said with a twinkle in her eye.

“Aye. Ye ken a lot bout it, I see. There seems to always be something new to learn about ye lass, something exciting.”

“I’m not all that exciting.” She said modestly. “What about you?? I saw you take down that guy without breaking a sweat.”

It was Jamie’s turn to blush. “Och! It was nothin. And ‘sides I was much bigger than him.”

“Yeah, you were....James does that offer to teach me Gaelic still stand?”

He looked at her with surprise. “Of course, lass.”

“How do you say ‘Viking’ in Gaelic?”

“Lochlannach” He said in confusion, “why do ye ask lass?”

“Because I think that’s what you are. Come on, Locklylack, let’s go.”  
She said smugly.

“Oh Christ! That’s the worst Gaelic I’ve ever heard, lass!!” He said mortified.

“Well it’s a good thing that you have plenty of time to fix that, isn’t it?”

“I dinna think three hundred years could fix that.”

She slapped him on the shoulder, “Come on Lackylock, play nice.”

He made a cross with his right hand over his chest, “Oh, Lord, what have ye got me into?”


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning, Eliza was having a wonderful dream where she was wrapped up in a certain red head’s arms. He was whispering to her in Gaelic, his face was buried into her neck, his lips were grazing her skin as he spoke, sending the most wonderful tingles up and down her body. His hands were traveling downward, well on their way to fondle her ass when they were interrupted by a light tapping sound.

“Go away.” Eliza said as she held on to Dream-Jamie tighter. The tapping sound got louder.

“I said go away!!” 

“Eliza!” She heard Dream-Jamie say as he started to pull away.

“No, no, five more minutes.” She tried to hold onto him, but he started to float away from her and then she opened her eyes to a harsh light.

She sat up quickly, feeling panicked. She tried to look around, squinting, to protect her eyes from the sun streaming in. She took in the plush bed she was curled up in, naked except for the nice thick blanket keeping her warm. After a few seconds, reality slowly came back to her, and her dream, sadly, started fading away.

“Eliza!! Are ye in there?” Except for the tapping and Dream-Jamie’s voice.

“Eliza!!!” 

Wait! That was the real Jamie! 

“Ja-“

By the time her voice came back to her, she tried to call out, but it was too late, Jamie burst into the room.

“Eliza!! Are ye alright??? I’ve been knockin for a long time, I hope-“ 

He stopped and took in the sight before him. She was laying in the bed, her head propped up on a mountain of pillows, her beautiful, golden hair was loose, spilling all around her like a halo again. She was clearly not wearing any clothes, not even a night shirt. Her hand was clutching the covers tightly to her chest, her face was flushed and she was breathing heavy.

He quickly turned around.

“A Dhia! I’m so sorry, lass. I didna mean to intrude. I just- The mornin’ was gettin late and I wanted to make sure ye were alright. I was knockin and knockin and I got worried when ye didna answer and I-“

“It’s alright, James.” She interrupted him with a quiet voice, “I didn’t mean to sleep in so late, I just, must have really enjoyed sleeping in a real bed.” 

“Aye, I ken what ye mean. I slept like a bairn last night.”

Her face flushed even deeper, if it was possible, when she thought of him laying in bed, naked as the day he was born, his muscles-

She awkwardly cleared her throat.

“If you uh- want to just wait outside, I’ll get ready to go. It shouldn’t take me too long.”

“Aye, Aye. I’ll wait for ye downstairs.” He then made a hasty exit.

Eliza let out a long breath as soon as the door closed and dropped her head into her hands. 

That man will be the death of me. 

But what a way to go. 

————————

After a late start, the duo was on the road again. They traveled for a few hours until they stopped in the afternoon to water the horses and themselves.

“It looks like it’ll start rainin’, we should probably find some shelter soon.” Jamie said as he looked up at the skies above.

Eliza looked up as well. “How can you tell? There’s barely a cloud in the sky.”

“Och! I can smell it.” He said to her with a grin.

“Really?” She asked in disbelief.

“Aye. And I think it’ll be a strong storm comin in.”

Eliza was skeptical of his self proclaimed skill, but nodded at him and proceeded to eat her cheese she had gotten from the kitchen at the inn. She offered Jamie a chunk, he gratefully accepted it and sat down next to her on the log she had chosen to rest at.

“I still don’t understand it.” Jamie said after a few minutes of companionable silence.

Eliza looked at him in confusion, “Understand what?”

“How ye took those men down yesterday. I ken ye were taught how to fight but ye’re just so- well ye’re so...”

“If you are about to call me ‘wee’ again, James Fraser, I will kick your ass right here and now.”

He grinned at her.

“Oh, really? Ye think ye can?”

“I know I can.” She said matter of factly.

It was his turn to be skeptical of her. “I dinna think so, lass, not only am I a lot bigger than ye, but I’ve fought in my fair share of battles.”

“And so have I.” She then stood up. “Look, if you don’t believe me, I’ll prove it.”

“Prove it?” He looked up at her, his eyes as big as saucers.

“Yes, I’ll prove it, come on.” She backed up and bent into a fighting position and beckoned him towards her with her hand.

He shook his head at her, “I think ye may have gone a bit mad, lass.”

“Aww, what’s the matter? You’re scared to get your ass kicked by a ‘wee’ girl like me?”

He stood up then and came towards her, towering over her, well over a foot taller. “No, I’m no scared, but I would never hit a woman.”

“It wouldn’t be hitting, James. It’s called sparring. I do it all the time, even with Johnny.”

His eyebrows shot up then, “Really?”

“Yes, but he refused to do it again after I bruised his ribs the last time.” She said sheepishly.

Jamie’s mouth dropped open.

“But I mean, I would go easy on you, of course.”

Jamie shook his head again in disbelief. “Ye’ve definitely gone mad, very mad.”

She smiled at him, “Oh, come on, I’ll even let you have the first move.”

He just stood there staring at her, refusing to move.

“I’m not leaving until you make it.”

Jamie sighed heavily, realizing how stubborn she was. He slowly pulled his arm back and lazily threw a sloppy right hook at her.

She easily dodged it and laughed at him. “Oh come on, you can at least put a little effort into it Lachlylock, I won’t break.”

He shook his head again and then threw a left at her with no strength behind it, she easily caught his arm and flipped him over her shoulder. He landed on his back with a loud “oof”. 

“Christ, lass, how’d ye do that?”

She smiled down at him and offered her hand to help him up, “I’m stronger than I look.”

He looked at her hand for a moment, then he slowly grasped it with his right, but instead of getting up, he pulled her down on top of him. She gasped out of surprise and went down, unprepared for the move. He then rolled over, trapping her beneath him.

“I’m stronger, lass.” He looked down at her with a smug grin. “And it’s Lochlannach.”

She looked up at him with a wicked grin in response and before he knew it she had brought both of her knees up and kicked him off of her with unbelievable strength. She then threw herself at him before he could recover and he landed back on the hard ground again. She pounced on top of him, trapping HIM beneath HER.

“I like the way I say it, Locklylack.” He growled at her then and tried to get back on top of her, but she was prepared for it this time. He couldn’t make her budge at all, no matter how hard he tried to push her off. 

She smiled down at him, prettily. “What’s the matter, James? I thought you were stronger?”

He grunted and continued to try to buck her off, but she stood her ground. After a few moments, he locked eyes with her and slowly stopped moving all together. He was breathing heavily with his exertions, Eliza watched his chest moving up and down, sweat was glistening on his forehead. Her hands were gripping his forearms, she could feel the muscles bulging beneath his shirt. 

Their faces were just inches apart, Eliza could feel his breath on her lips. She slowly moved towards him, closing her eyes, and ever so gently placed her lips on top of his. She felt his sharp intake of breath, and then she felt him respond to the kiss slowly. His arms wrapped around her back, pulling her flush against him. She groaned loudly at the feel of his body.

The sound seemed to jolt him out of the trance and he let go of her, like the touch of her burned him. She felt the change in him and quickly pulled away in horror.

“Eliza.” He said in a calm voice. She scrambled her way off of him and backed away as far as she could, trying to catch her breath.

“Oh my god, James! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-“

“It’s okay, lass, really, I’m the one that’s sorry, I shouldna have....I just....we shouldna-“

“No, no, no, we shouldnt have....because....why exactly shouldn’t we?”

“Well, I’m uh....I’m a lot older than ye, lass.”

“Right, right. And that’s important?”

He ducked his head, “Aye, I think so, maybe.... I didna ken, I just...I’m not...Eliza, I can’t...”

“No, James, we don’t have to talk about it. It was a dumb mistake, I shouldn’t have thrown myself at you like some desperate schoolgirl. It won’t happen again, I promise.”

“Eliza.” He said in disapproval.

“No, James, it’s okay, really....we should go soon, like you said, it’s going to rain and we need to find shelter.” 

She moved to walk past him, but he grabbed her arm. She tried to pull away, but he held on with a brutal grip.

“It’s no okay, lass. I dinna want ye to think that I don’t...I’d be a fool to say I wasna interested.”

She looked at him in surprise, “Really?”

He shook his head at her. “I havena been able to get ye out of my head since the first moment I laid eyes on ye.”

“James, I-“

“But I’m not....we can’t be together, no like that.”

She stuck her chin out defiantly, “Why? You just said that-“

He sighed heavily and let go of her then, he turned away from her, unable to look her in the eyes. He looked out into the woods surrounding them, trying to gather his thoughts.

“Because....I’m not...” he turned back to her then, pinning her with his gaze, “Ever since Claire, I’m...not a real person anymore, half a man, barely. And ye deserve so much more than that, Eliza. Ye deserve someone who can give ye the world, who will worship ye, like the goddess ye are, not an auld, broken man like me.” 

Tears were shining in his eyes from his quiet admission. She tilted her head down, her own eyes filling with sadness at the grief she could feel coming off of him.

“I uh...I understand.” She said quietly, refusing to look up.

He lifted her head up gently with his finger to make her look at him, “But I... I want ye in my life, lass. I want us to be friends, good friends. I want ye to come back to Lallybroch with me and stay with me, just fer a while. My family will love ye. And I could show ye around the farm and the town.”

She smiled at him sadly, touched by his words. “That sounds nice, James.” She said quietly.

He smiled back at her, “Good, good....well I uh- I should get the horses ready.” He turned and started walking away when her voice stopped him.

“You’re wrong, you know?”

“About what?”

“You’re more of a man than most of the ones I’ve met.”

He smiled softly at her, “Ye must not meet many good men then, lass”

She laughed lightly, “Well, you could be right about that.”

She watched him walk away then, feeling like her heart was being ripped out with every step he took. She inhaled deeply and nodded to herself. 

Her relationships never worked out anyways, sometimes ending in more than just emotional pain, in physical pain as well, mortal danger, really. 

Maybe it was better this way. 

She didn’t know who she was kidding, her heart or her brain, either way, she was screwed.  
———————-

They rode on in a somewhat awkward silence. After about an hour, Eliza felt a drop of water fall on her cheek. She looked up and saw the dark clouds looming ahead.

“James? I think we really should find that shelter soon.”

“Aye, just beyond those trees, there’s rock over there, maybe there’s a cave we can hide in. Come on.”

They sped up their pace as one. They rode for about twenty minutes before they heard a loud boom and a bolt of lightening flew across the sky, the clouds then opened up and the rain immediately poured down on them.

“JAMES! It’s really coming down! I think we need to stop!” Eliza yelled over the sound of the pelting rain.

“We’re almost there.” He shouted back.

When they finally made it to the mountain of rock, Jamie jumped off of his horse and quickly tied him to a tree, Eliza followed suit. Along the mountain, there was an alcove of sorts, it was tiny, but it would keep them somewhat dry for a while.

“Come on, Eliza, over there, we can get some cover.” 

He grabbed her hand and they ran to the rock together. With Jamie being much bigger than Eliza, it was a tight fit, but they made it work.

“Are ye alright, lass?” Jamie craned his neck awkwardly to look at her, he could see her shivering.

“I’m alright, just cold.”

He nodded, “ Do ye- can I- I’ll put my arm around ye, keep ye warm.”

She looked up at him in surprise. She didn’t think she could bare his touch after their awkward talk earlier, but she was FREEZING. 

She nodded lightly and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Even though, he must have been just as soaked as she was, she felt like she was being cuddled by a furnace. She sighed happily and melted into his touch, thankful for the warmth.

They sat there like that for a while, watching the rain pound into the earth. 

“You really were right, this is a wicked storm.”

“Ye sound surprised by that lass. Ye think I was lyin before?” He said with amusement.

She nodded, “Oh yeah, I thought you were full of it..Smelling the weather? Who does that?”

He chuckled at her and squeezed her shoulders.

“That’ll teach ye to doubt me then, lass, won’t it?”

She smiled, “Maybe but I-“

BOOM!!!

They were interrupted by a loud burst of thunder then they heard the whinnying of their horses and a loud snap, like a rope breaking.

“Oh, no, the horses. I’ve got to check on them, they could hurt themselves bein so spooked, stay here, lass!” He stood up and ran back towards the horses who were out of their sight, on the edge of the woods.

Eliza made to go after him, “James!! Wait!!! I don’t think it’s safe to-“

All of a sudden, there was a loud crackling noise and a flash of lightening. Eliza and James stopped where they were and looked up. There was a large oak tree to Jamie’s right, there was smoke coming off of the branches on top and they could hear a loud creaking sound.

By the time Eliza realized what was happening, it was too late, she tried to yell for him, “James!!!!” 

She was then thrown onto her back by a large invisible force of wind. She took a few moments to gather her wits and then stood up slowly to find James.

But instead of finding the handsome Scot, there was a large branch, twenty times her size, in the same spot that James had just stood.

“James!!! James!!!!”

She ran over to it, not caring about the rain pounding onto her. She saw a patch of red hair peaking through the branches and heard a loud groan.

She sighed with relief, “Oh, James! Are you alright??”

She kneeled down and pulled off the small branches around his face. He groaned again. 

“I didna think I can move my leg, lass.” 

She looked down and saw the large hunk of wood that was pinning his leg down. It looked like it weighed over two hundred pounds, not something a mere mortal could move.

“It’s alright, James, I can get you out.” 

Just then, a sizzling sound registered to both of them and Eliza saw that the tree was on fire were it was hit by the lightening. The flame was slowly making it’s way towards them. Eliza took a deep breath and tried to lift the log, but it didn’t budge.

“Okay, okay, it’s alright, I just need you to work with me, James.”

He shook his head, “No, lass, ye need to run, the log is too heavy.”

“I’m not leaving you here, James!!!” She cried out in disbelief.

“Aye, ye are! Even if ye could lift it, my leg is crushed, I canna run anyways. Now go!! Eliza, ye gotta get outta here!!!” He too saw the fire heading towards them.

She shook her head stubbornly, “I’m not leaving you.”

He growled at her then, “Eliza Winters! Ye better leave this instance! I willna have ye killed because of me!”

“And I will not have you killed because of ME!” She shouted. “Now on the count of three, I’m going to lift this log and you’re going to pull your leg back as hard as you can, okay?”

“Eliza, that’s not-“

“One”

“It’s not gonna work-“

“Two”

“Eliza!”

“Three!!!!” And with that she grasped the wood tightly and lifted with all of her strength. It took a moment or two before it finally started to move and she raised it up at least a foot allowing Jamie enough room to wiggle himself free.

But he didn’t move, he just stared at her in disbelief. She was standing there, holding up something five times her size, there was smoke surrounding her, the rain was pouring down all around her.

“ Ban-dia òir”

She took a deep breath, “I can’t hold this all day, James!!!” She shouted at him angrily.

He came to his senses and quickly rolled out from under the tree. She dropped the log once he was safe with a heavy sigh.

“Come on, we gotta get back to the cave! Can you walk?”

He looked down at his leg, while it wasn’t actually crushed, it was rather painful to put weight on it.

She watched him assess himself and then quickly made a decision. She wrapped her arms around him, gripping him under his armpit and carried/dragged him back to the cave which was far enough away to keep them safe from the fire.

Once they made it back, she propped him up against the wall and sat down in front of him with her back to him in a protective manner. He just looked down at her in shock. He was in such disbelief that she had just saved his life so selflessly that he couldn’t form words.

They sat there in silence for what seemed like hours.

Finally, the rain seemed to lighten and Eliza could see the sun peeking out through the clouds.

“I think the storms passing.” She said quietly.

James just nodded at her. She crawled out from their shelter and turned to get a good look at him.

“How’s your leg?”

“I think it’s alright. I just uh- should probably rest a bit longer.”

She nodded. “Do you want me to look at it?”

He shook his head, “No, Eliza, I’m alright.”

They stared at each other then, getting lost in one another’s eyes.

“Ye should have left me” Jamie finally said.

“What???” Eliza shouted out in surprise, “Left you? Why would I do that?”

“Ye coulda died, Eliza!!!”

“Yeah, so could you!!! What? Do you think I’m some sort of sadist? That I would have just sat there and enjoyed watching you suffer?” She spat at him angrily.

His mouth fell open then, his eyes nearly bulged out of his head. A million memories started flying around in his head. Memories of Claire. Of things that she would do that other girls wouldn’t. Things that she would say because she was from the-

“What did ye just say???”

She looked back at him with equal surprise, “What?”

“Ye just said-Christ!!! I canna believe I didna see it before!”

“James? What-“

“It makes sense! The way ye talk, the way ye dress, the way ye act! It’s just like how she-....I shoulda realized...”

“James!!!! What on earth are you talking about??” 

“Ye.”

“What about me?”

“Ye’re from the future.”


	12. Chapter 12

“Ye’re from the future.”

Eliza felt all of her breath escape her, she immediately started to feel woozy.

“What?!...That’s-What??...You’re crazy! Why would you...WHAT??”

Her voice was reaching an unbelievably high pitch. She started shaking her head back and forth. She stood up and walked away a few paces and then came back and crouched down before him.

“WHAT?”

“It’s true, isna it? Ye’re from the future.” He said with an unbelievable amount of calm, like he didn’t just guess her deepest, darkest secret.

“How would you even.... How could you possibly know that?” She questioned him, her eyes wide in shock. 

“Is it true?”

She walked way from him again. She took a few deep breaths, trying to take in as much air as possible. She turned back around and took in the sight before her. Jamie was still sitting up, against the back of the small cave. His hurt leg was stretched out before him, his shirt had torn when the tree fell on him. He had bruises and scratches everywhere, his face dirty. And he was looking at her like he was seeing her for the first time, like he was seeing Buffy.

“Yes.” She said quietly. “Yes, I’m from the future.”

He simply at nodded at her. “I ken.”

“That’s it?” She threw her arms up into the air, “You don’t think I’m crazy, you just...you believe me and that’s it???”

“Aye.”

She went back toward him and sat down in front him, folding her legs under her.

“But...but don’t you want to know why I’m here? How I got here?”

He nodded again, “Aye, but only when ye’re ready to tell me, lass”

Her mouth gaped open in disbelief. “You’re unbelievable.”

“Me? Ye’re the one from the future!” He smiled at her wryly.

She turned her head away from him, trying to gather her thoughts. 

“How did you know?”

“I’ve only ever heard one person use the word ‘sadist’ and they were from the year 1945.” He admitted.

“Sadist??? That’s what made you-Wait! 1945?? That’s....who?”

His gaze bore into her. He looked like he was trying to decide how much he should tell her, he gave a slight nod, almost to himself.

“My wife.”

“Your wi- Claire? She was- she was from 1945?”

“Aye. Is that, is that the year ye’re from?”

She shook her head, “No, no, I’m from...ummm...it was 2001 when I...when I came here.”

That seemed to finally unnerve him, “Two thousand and-that’s-that can not be!”

“Really? 1945 could be real to you, but not 2001? That’s what finally freaks you out??” She said, thrown off by his reaction to the whole thing.

“I just uh- I didna think about...I didna think the stones could still be around fer that long, I guess.”

“The stones?” She asked in confusion, “What stones?”

“Craig na dun. That’s how...how my wife came here. She fell through the stones.”

Her eyes grew even bigger if it was possible, “Stones. She fell through stones?” 

“Aye. There’s a uh- story that’s told among my people. It’s been told fer centuries, that people have fallen through time, through those stones. I never truly believed it until...until Claire told me the truth about where she was from....but that’s...that’s no how ye got here?”

She shook her head again. “No, I uh- I came here through a portal.” She watched him closely, gauging his reaction, unsure how much she could tell him.

“A portal? What’s a portal?”

She sighed, “It’s a...it’s like a door of sorts, I guess.”

“A door?”

“Well, not an actual door. I just mean it can take you to a different place from where you are. Ugh. I’m terrible at this.” She shook her head when she realized he was getting even more confused. She really missed Giles. She tried again.

“A portal is like a gateway that looks like a hole in the sky surrounded by light. It’s like-“

“Surrounded by light? I didna- it sounds like ye’re speakin of magic, lass”

“Yes!” She shouted in triumph, “Yes! It’s magic.”

But he seemed to withdraw from her at that. “Eliza? Are ye....are ye a witch?”

“What? No, no, I’m not a witch, James, but I...” She sighed again, “I’m not exactly what one would call normal.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, “What do ye mean?”

She stood up then and started pacing slowly, back and forth, in front of him.

“I mean...you know when I took down those men? When I took you down without even breaking a sweat?” She tried to hide her blush at the mention of their accidental entanglement earlier.

He just nodded, “Aye.”

“Well, I could do those things, not just because I’m a trained fighter, but because I have certain...abilities.”

“Abilities?”

“Yes. I AM stronger than you, than any man really. I have the speed and grace of ten warriors combined. I uh- I heal faster than normal. I can hear things that are miles away, long before any one else can. I can see in the dark perfectly. I don’t need as much sleep either. I can go days without it actually.”

“Is that... is everyone like that in yer time?”

“No, no, just me...mostly.”

She wanted to tell him the rest, about the demons, the vampires, but she didn’t think he was ready. He was already looking a bit pale.

“There’s...there’s more but I’m not...”

He held his hand, “No. That’s okay, that’s okay, I didna think I can hear much more. No right now, I mean.”

“I’m so sorry, James. Do you want me to...I can go. If you want.” She said sadly.

“Go?? Why would ye go?”

“You mean? You’re not mad?”

“Mad?” He asked in surprise. “Why would I be mad? And why would I want ye to go?”

“Well, I mean, I’m not who you thought I was. And I didn’t think you would still want to be around someone like me... a freak.”

“Eliza. I didna ken what a ‘freak’ is exactly, but I ken that ye are the most extraordinary person I’ve met.” He looked at her in awe, amazement in his eyes. “And ye did just save my life and everythin’. It would be rude, to send ye away...right now at least.” He said with a grin.

She smiled back and laughed softly. 

“You’re an amazing man, James Fraser.”

“And ye’re an amazing woman, Eliza Winters.”

“Buffy.”

“What?” He asked in confusion.

“My name... My REAL name is Buffy. Buffy Anne Summers.”

“Buffy.” He said, trying it out on his tongue for the first time.

He smiled then, “It’s nice to meet ye, Buffy Anne Summers.”

She smiled back, her eyes twinkling, “Thank you, James.”

“Fer what?”

“Being you.”

“Och! Anytime, lass.”

They stared at each other for a long moment.

“Well, I should probably go find the horses and make sure they’re okay. Will you be alright for a little bit?”

“Aye. I’ll be alright....Buffy.”

She walked away feeling like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

———————————  
She found the horses wandering the forest together, not too far away. They were a bit spooked, but overall okay. She walked them back and tied them to a tree that was closer to the cave.

It was dark by the time she got back to Jamie and he had slid down the wall and was sleeping soundly. She grabbed a blanket from her bag and gently laid it on top of him. He shifted slightly in his sleep and then curled into the blanket, a slow smile graced his face. She felt her heart skip a beat.

Friends. 

She could be friends with this man. Not only was he sweet and kind and unbelievably gorgeous, he was strong and good and just accepted her for her. She wanted him in her life and if being friends was the only way to do it then so be it. She didn’t need anything more.

She knew she was lying to herself but she also knew it was for the best. She hoped so anyways.

————————————

The next day, after Jamie swore up and down that his leg was okay enough to travel, they took off again. They had just entered Scotland and Jamie was literally vibrating with the excitement of finally being so close to his home.  
Eliza could feel it coming off of him in waves, she couldn’t help feeling just as excited.

“So..how much longer until we get to...Lollypop?” She asked, her nose scrunching up at the name that she knew didn’t sound right.

He laughed, “Lallybroch. It means Lazy Tower. And maybe three or four more days....that is if ye dinna go getting stuck in another storm, lass.”

She looked at him, appalled, “Me?!? You’re the one who thought running around in it was a great idea!”

He chuckled again, “Aye, it may no have been my best moment.”

She smiled, “Definitely not. You’re lucky that I was around.”

He gave a nod in her direction, “Aye, verra lucky, I ken that, lass. I ken.”

She blushed at the sincerity in his voice. Was he ever not charming? 

She cleared her throat, ready to change the subject, “So La-Lee-Brock.” she said, stretching out the syllables, “Tell me about it, your sister lives there with her family?”

“Aye. She and Ian, her husband take good care of it and all of the people.”

“All of the people? What people?” She asked, confused.

“Och! The people that live there, lass. The town is actually called Broch Tourach. I uh- I used to be Laird, but before Culloden...I signed everything over to my nephew, Young Jamie. Jenny and Ian have been in charge until Young Jamie is ready to take over.”

“Laird? What does that mean?”

He smiled softly, now understanding why she didn’t understand him half the time. She wasn’t kidding when she said she wasn’t from around there, he thought wryly.

“Laird. It means ye own the land, a Lord of sorts.”

Her eyes grew big with surprise, “You’re a Lord? Like Johnny?”

“Nah. It’s no like that exactly, Lairds are’na so...well they’re no so...”

“Stuck up?” She suggested, thinking about all of the nobles she had met and even how cold and uppity Johnny was when they first met.

Jamie laughed, “Aye. It’s different for the Scots. It’s no as official, I suppose, but it does mean ye’re in charge of the people, ye take care of them and they...they respect ye, if ye earn it.”

“And you did that? You were in charge until..Culloden?”

He shook his head sadly, “No as much as I wanted. After...” he paused and took a deep breath, “After my father died, I uh-was supposed to become the next Laird, but I had a price on my head. I had to go into hiding, for years....After...after I married Claire, I took her back to Lallybroch, to finally assume the role I should have long before, but then...then things...things happened and...and we wound up in Paris and we couldna go back to Lallybroch for a while and then Claire told me what happened to the Scots, how they lost at Culloden....we uh-we tried to stop it, tried to make sure the Scots won against the British, but that didna happen, obviously....so I signed my Lairdship over to Young Jamie and had my family lay low, to protect them. Thankfully, since we knew what was comin’, they were able to prepare and survive the British taking over. The same canna be said for many other clans.”

She was shocked by his admission, but she was grateful for his honesty, for trusting her enough to tell her of his past.

“James...I...I’m sorry. I can’t believe...you really tried to stop the war?”

He nodded, “Aye, it was foolish. I ken that now. But after Claire told me what would happen...what would happen to my people, I couldna just do nothing, ye ken?”

“Yes, actually, I know very well. You’re a brave man, James, a GOOD man.” She said in earnest.

He shook his head in denial, “No as brave as ye, lass....How did ye...How did ye end up in that- that portal?”

“It’s a long story. I didn’t...know what would happen when I jumped...I thought...well... I thought...I thought I was going to die actually, so you can imagine my surprise when I landed two hundred and fifty years into the past.” She said light heartedly, trying to downplay the tragedy that was her life.

Jamie’s mouth dropped, “Ye meant to die, lass?” His heart nearly stopped at the mere thought of that happening.

She sighed deeply, “Look, James, there’s a reason why I have the...gifts that I have and I’m not sure that you would-“

She was interrupted by a loud bang, a gunshot. She gripped her reins tightly and urged Willow to go faster, towards the sound.

“Eliza!! Buffy!!! Wait!!”

Jamie took off after her. He was just a moment behind her, having to take a second longer to register the sound. When they arrived, he was shocked at the scene before him. 

There was a man cowering on the ground, a gun in his hand, which was trembling in fear from the creature that stood before him. 

Jamie had never seen anything like it. It was tall, almost as tall as him. But it’s skin, it was green, made of scales. The face was distorted, but the red, soulless eyes stood out to him the most. It was snarling and was headed towards the man who had obviously tried to shoot it, but was having a hard time with his shaky hands. Jamie was about to grab the gun from him to take aim himself, but then Eliza jumped into the picture.

She quite literally jumped and kicked the monster square in it’s chest. It stumbled, but didn’t fall. She went to punch it, but it was quicker than she thought. It blocked her move and punched her in return and then kicked her in the stomach, sending her crashing to the ground. Jamie’s own stomach clenched at the sight of her getting hurt.

“Eliza! Get away from that...that thing!”

The cowering man had gotten up the moment Eliza attacked the creature. He ran away, abandoning his heroes, thankfully abandoning the gun as well. Jamie had went to grab it, but the creature had started coming towards him when he shouted. He managed to squeeze the trigger at the last second, blowing off the creature’s head. He stood there for a moment, in shock, unsure of what just happened. Only the sound of Eliza groaning in pain brought him out of it.

He quickly ran over to her. “Eliza! Ban-dia òir! Are ye alright?”

He crouched down next to her, he tried to help her up, but she gently pushed him away.

“I’m alright, I’m alright. I didn’t expect it to be that strong, I’m uh- a little out of practice.” She said with embarrassment. 

He shook his head in disbelief, “Outta practice? What do ye mean? And what- what was that, that thing!?!”

Eliza stood up, catching her breath. She looked at him in awe, impressed by his quick thinking. He had acted on pure instinct, wanting to protect her, he was truly her hero in that moment. She had a feeling that if Xander was around, he would say that Jamie had just earned a spot into the Scooby Gang. Eliza smiled at the thought.

“That, my dear friend, was a demon.”


	13. Chapter 13

“A demon? Demons are real.” Jamie repeated for the fifth time, in disbelief.

Eliza had spent well over an hour explaining her world to him. She knew that Jamie had grown up hearing stories of fairies and of people falling through stones, his own damn wife was from the future! So she was hoping that vampires and demons wouldn’t be such a far fetched idea for him, but the more she had explained things, the more he had looked like he wanted to run away at any given moment. 

He didn’t run away though, he stayed and listened to what she had to say. She had a feeling he didn’t quite believe her yet, but with the dead demon laying between them, it was hard for him to flat out deny it.

She wasn’t surprised that he had never seen a demon before. She, herself, hadn’t had many encounters with the supernatural since she had traveled to the past. She wasn’t sure why, maybe she was so used to living on a hellmouth that she didn’t realize running into a demon around every corner wasn’t a normal occurrence for the rest of the world.

“Yes, they are real.” She said with as much patience she could muster.

“And ye...it’s yer...job to fight them, to kill them?”

“Yes. I’m The Slayer, it is my destiny.” She said slowly, repeating herself again.

He shook his head back and forth, his impossibly blue eyes were wide with confusion.

“I... I dinna think...lass, I...” he abruptly turned away from her and started walking back and forth, muttering to himself in Gaelic.

She sighed softly, “I’m sorry, James. I know that I shouldn’t have told you. I just turned your whole world upside down and I just...I haven’t talked about who I am, who I truly am for so long. It felt nice to say it out loud after so long...It was selfish for me to tell you. I shouldn’t-“

“No!” He stopped and walked over to her and crouched down to where she was sitting on a fallen long. “No, it’s a lot to take in, is all. I just need time to accept it, I think. But dinna ever apologize for being honest wit me. I am glad ye told me, lass. Truly.“ he said earnestly, his eyes boring into hers.

She smiled slowly, “So, you don’t hate me for ruining your life?”

“Nah, ye didna ruin my life. Maybe ye dented it a lil’, aye, but perhaps it wasna all that great to begin with. Now, let’s go home and ye can tell me more about these beasts.”

He said with a soft smile. He stood up and offered her his hand, she gladly took it.

—————————

Over the next few days, Eliza told Jamie everything. She told him about her high school, about living on a hellmouth, she even told him about Angel and Angelus. She told him about her friends. About Giles. About Dawn. About Glory and the heart wrenching night that she lost everything.

Jamie, for his part, listened to every word, he never judged. He just listened. She was eternally grateful. 

And in return, he told her more about his family, his mom, his brothers. About Murtaugh. About his uncles. He told her more about Claire, about her going back to the future for their child. It felt good for him to tell everything to another person. He didn’t realize how suffocated he felt, holding onto his past for so long, until he said it all out loud. It felt good to release it into the world, to let it go. To let it all go.

—————————-

“Och! This is it! Just over that hill, lays Lallybroch.” Jamie said as they came to an ordinary looking road.

“What? Really? I didn’t realize it was so close. I should change, I don’t want to make the wrong impression.” Eliza replied with surprise.

“Dinna fash Eliza....” he paused with a confused look on his handsome face, “Buffy? I’m sorry, I just realized I dinna ken what I should call ye, lass.”

She smiled softly, “Well, Buffy doesn’t really sound like what one would call a lady, but it’s....nice, hearing you say my real name.” She blushed slightly at her own admission.

Jamie smiled back, “How bout I call ye Eliza when we’re in public and call ye Buffy when it’s just us.”

For some reason, Eliza’s butterflies came back after she had miraculously managed to shove them away for the past week. She ignored them with a great amount of effort.

“I would like that, James.” 

“Ye ken that everyone calls me Jamie, lass.” 

“Oh, I know....but I’m not everyone.” She said as she jumped down from her horse.

Jamie’s heart did a flip at that. He chose to disregard it and was about to reply when the sound of barking caught his attention. He made it down from his horse just in time to be attacked by a number of hairy beasts with wagging tails, who covered him in slobber. He laughed with joy at the familiar welcome.

Eliza tensed at the sound of feet rushing towards them and had dropped into a fighting stance. Once she realized Jamie was being licked to death by the cutest crowd of dogs she had seen, she laughed right along with him. 

“Och! Whose there?” A man suddenly approached them. The dogs immediately retreated from Jamie and ran back up the hill. 

Jamie didn’t seem to recognize the man, the boy actually, Eliza realized once he got closer. He was skinny with long blond hair and he couldn’t have been older than fifteen.

“Who are ye? What is yer purpose here?” He asked more aggressively when they didn’t reply.

Jamie cleared his throat, “I’m sorry lad, my name is Jamie Fraser and thi-“

“Uncle Jamie?!?” The boy asked with excitement when he heard the name.

Jamie looked confused at first but then he seemed to have a moment of clarity, “Who are...Ian? Young Ian?”

“Aye, it’s me, Uncle Jamie! Ma dinna say ye were comin home! She’ll be mad wit joy to see ye, Uncle!”

Jamie smiled and then moved forward and engulfed the smaller boy in a hug, he barely came up to his chest. 

“Last time I saw ye, ye could fit in the palm of my one hand.”

Eliza laughed at that, charmed by the sweet moment. The boy, Ian, turned to her, seeming to notice her for the first time. He immediately ducked his head, his cheeks turning redder than his uncle’s hair. She was confused at first, but then she looked down at herself and realized that she was still wearing her slayer outfit. She blushed as well. Jamie didn’t seem to notice the exchange at all.

“Och! Young Ian, this is my....dear friend, Lady Eliza Winters. Eliza, this is Young Ian, my youngest nephew.” He introduced them with pride in his voice.

“It’s nice to meet you Ian, Young Ian, I’m sorry that I-“ she was cut off when another man suddenly appeared. He was taller than Ian, but not as tall as Jamie, of course. He also looked older than Ian, but probably not by much, Eliza guessed. He was handsome with dark hair and fair skin. And he had a French accent when he spoke.

“Ian! Who is it? Dinner is almost ready and your maman will be angry if you’re-“ 

The man stopped talking when he saw the two strangers. He seemed to take in Eliza’s outfit first, but did not seem as disturbed as Young Ian was at the sight of her. But his eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open as he took in Jamie.

“My-Milord?? Is it...Is it really you, Milord?”

“Fergus? Christ!” Jamie’s mouth had also fallen open, his eyes moistened with unfallen tears.

The dark haired man smiled and stepped forward, Jamie promptly enveloped him in a hug as well. Clearly, just as happy to see him. After a few heart warming moments, Jamie finally pulled back, sniffling slightly.

“Och! Fergus, it is verra, verra braw to see ye, lad!”

“You too, Milord! Come! Aunt Jenny will be so happy to see you!” 

Jamie smiled and then turned to Eliza, “First, I’d like ye to meet my dear friend, this is Lady Eliza Winters, Eliza, this is-“

“Fergus!!” They were interrupted by yet another voice, this time it was feminine with a Scottish accent.

“Fergus! Ian! If ye two are up to no good again, I’ll-“ she broke off at the sight of them as well. She had dark hair, she was much shorter than the men, closer to Eliza’s height, maybe a tad taller. She was beautiful with eyes that were the perfect match to Jamie’s.

“Jamie?”

“Hello Janet.” Jamie said warmly. He opened his arms and approached her with a huge smile on his face. But instead of going to return the hug, she punched him right in the stomach. He grunted in pain.

“Och! Really Jenny? This is how ye welcome yer brother home after I have no seen ye in years.”

“Oh, aye! Who do ye think ye are? Ye dinna even write to tell me ye were comin? I havena received a letter from ye in years! And now ye just show up whenever the hell ye want, bráthair. We dinna have enough food for ye and-“ She paused as she took in Eliza. She took in her hair that was messily falling down her shoulders and her outfit, that was baring an obscene amount of skin for the time, and not to mention,her skin tight trousers.

“Who the hell are ye?” Jenny pinned Eliza down with her hawklike gaze. Eliza was not one to be cornered, though she was rather embarrassed by her dress, well lack there of. She stepped forward and bowed.

“Hi, I’m Eliza, Eliza Winters.”

Jenny looked her up and down again, “Eliza? Look I dinna ken what my brother told ye, but this isna a brothel. It’s probably best fer ye to go back where ye came from and leave my brother be.”

“Janet!” Jamie shouted out, mortified by his sister’s behavior.

“What? This may still be yer home bráthair, but that doesna mean ye can just bring whores whenever ye please!” She had turned back to him.

“She isna a whore, Jenny. She is my friend AND my guest! I expect ye to treat her wit respect and-“

“Jenny! Where are ye?” They were interrupted yet again. This time it was an older man with lighter hair, he was hobbling down the hill at a slow pace. Eliza dropped her head in her hands and mumbled to herself, mortified.

“Och! Husband! Come and see who has decided to finally show up, unannounced, of course and with...company.” Jenny gave Eliza a side eye as she spoke. Jamie grabbed Eliza’s hand, trying to give her some sort of comfort. This was not going down as she had pictured it, and certainly not the way Jamie had.

“Now Janet, fer the last time-“

“Och! Don’t Janet me, James Alexander Malcom Mackenzie Fraser! If ye think ye can just-“

“Jenny. Jenny. Enough!” Ian had finally reached them and wrapped his arms around Jenny’s shoulder and started guiding her up the hill. He couldn’t say that he wasn’t surprised that she actually let him. “Now, Jenny, I’m sure that Jamie and his...friend are tired and hungry from their travels. Now let’s give them a moment and let them settle in before dinner, aye? Come.” 

He gave Jamie a smile and told him it was good to see him as he started walking back to the house with his wife.

Jenny, one to always have to have the last word, paused for a moment and turned back to Jamie.

“Well, I expect yer ‘guest’ will change before dinner. There will be children present, ye ken? Now, if ye’ll excuse me, I have to go make sure we have enough food for ye and yer...friend.” With that she went back up over the hill with Ian, leaving four mouths gaped open from shock, in her wake.

——————————-

“She hates me.” Eliza said as she sat down at a bench outside of the barn.

They had just had a somewhat awkward dinner with Jamie’s family. After the uncomfortable introduction outside, Eliza had immediately ran off and changed before even going to the house. Once she was dressed properly and didn’t feel like a street urchin anymore, she met the rest of Jamie’s family and they all sat down to eat. Jamie had many nephews and nieces, Eliza couldn’t really keep up with who was who, but everyone, for the most part, was quite warm and welcoming, especially Ian. He was much more charming than his wife, Eliza had thought. 

She sat through dinner listening to Jamie tell stories of his time in Helwater, he was quite the storyteller, she had come to realize. And Ian caught Jamie up on what was happening there at Lallybroch. Jenny was actually very quiet during the meal, which Eliza guessed was not a common occurrence. After dinner, Jamie had wanted some alone time with Eliza, so he offered to take her for a little evening walk around the farm, promising for a much grander tour in the daytime.

“She doesna hate ye! She’s sore wit me and she took it out on ye, I’m sorry a nighean. I shoulda warned ye and...perhaps given ye time to change.” Jamie said bashfully.

Eliza turned to him incredulously, “Do you think?”

“Aye, I really am sorry about that, but it doesna matter, she woulda acted poorly either way. Jenny is a bit..overprotective of me.”

Eliza huffed indignantly.

Jamie walked over and sat next to her on the bench and took one of her hands in his, “Ye just need to give her time El-Buffy. She’ll warm up to ye and love ye once she gets to know ye. Ye’ll see.”

She scoffed, “I don’t know about that one, James.”

“She will, Buffy. I promise.”

———————

A few days later, Eliza started to think that Jamie was a big, fat liar. 

Jenny had not thawed out at all, in fact her attitude towards her seemed to become icier and icier.

After Jamie had shown Eliza around the first day, they had come in for lunch and then Ian had called him into the study to look at the ledgers, leaving her alone with Jenny.

“Your home is very beautiful, Jenny.” Eliza said, trying to start some sort of conversation with her.

Jenny simply huffed and didn’t say anything further. Eliza sighed and tried again.

“James mentioned that you and Ian have been taking very fine care of this place for years, it must not have been easy.”

She huffed again, “Oh, did he now? Aye. Trying to feed everyone with only potatoes for ten years while British soldiers kept coming to not only arrest my husband, but to tear apart our home every time. No, twas not EASY.” She said as if all of it was Eliza’s fault.

“That sounds awful. I’m so sorry that you had to deal with that.” Eliza replied, genuinely feeling bad for her.

Jenny turned to her then, “Why are ye here?”

“What do you mean? “ Eliza asked, startled by the abrupt question.

“Ye ken what I mean. My brother is a man of honor and he has responsibilities now. He doesna need someone like ye, followin him around like a damn leech, distracting him.”

“And what exactly do you mean by someone like me, Jenny?” Eliza replied.

Jenny sighed, “Look, I ken that my brother is handsome and a fine man, but he needs a woman of standing, a family to care for. Not a common girl who prances about in the woods with men she doesna ken and dresses like a whore.” She sneered at her.

Eliza took three deep breaths. ‘This is Jamie’s sister, he would not like it if you staked her.’ She repeated in her mind over and over. She then stood at her full height and marched right into Jenny’s space. She imagined that people usually cowered at her bluntness, but those people probably didn’t go to high school with Cordelia Chase. She made Jenny look like Mother Teresa as far as Eliza was concerned and she was not going to be walked all over again.

“I understand that you’re being protective of your brother, Jenny. And we may not have gotten off on the right foot. But you don’t know me, you don’t know anything about me. And for your information, James is my FRIEND, nothing more, not that that is any of YOUR business. And he wants me here. You can be as rude and unwelcoming as you like, but I’m not going anywhere. So I suggest you get over yourself and just accept that.”

Eliza had then walked out of the room, not wanting to fight with her. After that, Jenny had simply ignored her whenever they were in the same room or would make a snide comment whenever she could.

On the third night, they were all having dinner together, when Jamie had had enough of Jenny’s antics.

“Janet! I dinna ken what’s the matter wit ye, but I wish ye to no be rude to my friend or me fer that matter any longer.”

Jenny huffed, “Och! Ye dinna ken bráthair? Why is she even here? She doesna do any of the chores, she doesna even ken how-“

“She is a GUEST, Jenny.” 

“Oh, well that just changes everything then, doesna it?” She replied with sarcasm.

“James, it’s really not a big deal-“ Eliza tried to interrupt but she was ignored. Ian put a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s best to just let them go, it’s impossible to stop them once they get started.” Eliza turned back to the shouting siblings, firing insults at each other. It was rather impressive, how vicious they were yet evenly matched.

“If ye dinna like it, Jenny, then fine! We will go. I dinna need this, and neither does Eliza.” Jamie finally shouted at her.

Jenny paused at this. “Och! That’s fine, but dinna think that ye can-“

“Milord! Mademoiselle! Monsieur!” They were interrupted by Fergus running into the room, panicked.

“Come quick! There’s a fire!! At the barn! Ian’s in there!!”

Silverware clanged onto the table and chairs toppled over in the chaos of the announcement, as the adults all ran out of the room.

—————

Eliza, being Eliza, got there first. Jamie was right behind her. When they reached the barn, there were flames coming out of the door and smoke was seeping out of every direction. Jamie ran up to the door, but jumped back when a lick of flame lashed out at him.

“The fire’s too big, we canna get in.” He said. The others had arrived by then and Jenny was screaming for Ian. Older Ian was holding onto her to keep her from running into the flames.

Eliza had stood back and was looking over the building, trying to find a way in. Then she saw it, a branch hanging above the barn that was too high for a normal person to reach. Without a second thought, she ran full blast toward the barn and leaped up to grab the branch.

“Eliza! No!” Jamie yelled and tried to grab her, but she was too quick. She managed to grab it and then swung herself onto the roof, as she landed, it collapsed and she fell through, hitting the ground hard. She was instantly surrounded by smoke, making it very hard to breathe. She got up and yelled for Ian, trying to cover her nose and mouth with her sleeve.

“Ian!! Where are you?” She heard a cough in reply, coming from a stall in the back of the barn. She ran over and found him, curled up in a ball, trying to cover his face.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, Ian. I’m gonna get us out of here.” He looked up at her, tears running down his face. She looked around as she spoke, trying to find a way out. The flames were surrounding them now, the smoke was getting heavier, making it harder for her to see. She then looked up and saw a rope still hanging from the ceiling. She crouched over Ian and held out her hand.

“Okay, Ian. I’m gonna need you to put your arms around my neck and hang on to my back.” 

Even through the smoke and flames, she could see the incredulous look he gave her.

“Come on, Ian. Trust me. I can hold you, but we gotta go, NOW!” Eliza heard a lot of crackling and popping, the fire was getting bigger and bigger. Ian nodded and wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind, he wasn’t much taller than her, which made it slightly easier. She jumped up and grabbed the rope, telling Ian to hold tight and not let go no matter what.

—————

Outside, Jenny was on the ground, sobbing. Ian had ran off with Fergus to get help. Jamie stood there, helplessly. He was just about to do something, he wasn’t sure what yet, when there was a loud popping sound. His heart dropped when he realized what it was. He quickly turned and grabbed Jenny, pulling her away from the barn just in time as it exploded.

He held her under him, shielding her, tucking his head onto her shoulder as wood and metal flew over them in every direction. The sound of the explosion had rendered him deaf for a moment. It took him a few seconds to realize that Jenny was screaming into his ear. He slowly got up and turned to look at the barn. Except it wasn’t there anymore.

There were bits and pieces of wood strewn about, some still on fire. Jamie walked forward to where the middle of the barn was, seeing nothing but debris. It was like a bomb had just went off.

He dropped to his knees, unable to comprehend what had just happened. He felt cold and empty. He dropped his head down to the ground in complete and utter devastation. He wasn’t sure how long he sat there for before he heard it. 

A cough.

He looked up and saw movement near the trees where the back of the barn used to be. He jumped up and started yelling as he ran over. He found Eliza and Ian huddled together. Eliza was covering Ian, in a protective manner, in the same way he had just held Jenny.

“Eliza?” She coughed again. He breathed a sigh of relief. “Eliza.” He went to grab her, but she rolled over, off of Ian and shook her head.

“Ian. Help Ian.” She turned her head and coughed violently. Jamie hesitated, but moved to Ian. He was unconscious, but Jamie could see that he was still breathing. He went to grab him, when Jenny and Older Ian appeared. Older Ian gathered him in his lap, Jenny hovered over him, yelling his name. His eyes suddenly opened and he started coughing violently as well. Jenny sighed in relief and threw herself on top of him.

Once Jamie saw that he was taken care of, he went back over to Eliza. She was sitting up by then, her coughing was somewhat under control. She was trying to take deep breaths. He gathered her in his arms. She was covered in black soot, he could see some scratches and bruises underneath.

“Christ! Are ye okay, Buffy?” 

She nodded. “Ian. Is he okay?”

Jamie smiled in spite of himself, she would be more worried about him. “Aye, lass. He’s okay, thanks to ye. Ban-Dia Òir.”

She looked up at him, from her spot in his lap. “You’ve called me that before. What does that mean?”

The tips of his ears turned red, “Oh. It...It doesna translate.”

Normally, she would question him more, but she was too exhausted. She pushed herself out of his lap and tried to stand up on her own.

“Easy, Buff” Jamie said as he held on to her and helped her up. Once she was standing, she gazed up into his eyes. She could see the worry that was still there. She reached up and smoothed the worry lines on his forehead.

“I’m okay, James. Really.”

“Ye scared me to death, lass. I thought....I thought I lost ye.” He admitted quietly.

She smiled softly, “It’ll take a lot more than that to get rid of me.”

He leaned down and rested his forehead on top of hers, reassuring himself that she was still there. Her heart jumped to her throat. She pulled back slightly, locking eyes with him again. He then looked down to her lips, she could feel him slowly moving, just half an inch more and....

“Eliza! Eliza!” The moment was shattered as Jenny’s voice pierced the air. The second she turned away from Jamie, she was engulfed in Jenny’s arms. 

“Thank ye, Eliza. I can never repay ye for what ye did. Thank ye, thank ye!” She was sobbing onto her shoulder, hugging her tightly. Eliza was so shocked at first, she simply stood there, with her arms at her sides. Jamie had walked around them and she could see him smiling down at her. She slowly raised her arms up and hugged Jenny back.

“You’re welcome, Jenny. You’re very welcome.”

She had a feeling that she had just gained a new friend.


	14. Chapter 14

After the fire, things were very different for Eliza at Lallybroch.

Since that night, Jenny had become a whole new person towards Eliza. She was constantly seeking out Eliza’s company, telling her stories of their life at Lallybroch, asking Eliza to share stories of her own. She even had her moved into the GRAND guest room, which just happened to be right across from Jamie’s room. Pure coincidence, Jenny had said.

Eliza had started helping her out with the daily chores. Of course, she had no idea what she was doing, she could barely do her laundry in the twentieth century, doing it now seemed impossible to her. But Jenny was patient and showed her all of the steps. She also showed Eliza how to tend to the garden, something she had never done before. 

To Eliza’s surprise, she actually found herself liking the domesticity of it all. She liked doing something with her hands that didn’t involve violence. It was nice and it made her feel useful, but there was something missing.

———————————————————————

The men of Lallybroch had immediately set to work to rebuild the barn. Jamie had taken lead on it, of course. He had felt odd and out of place when he and Eliza had first arrived home. His nieces and nephews barely recognized him and he was unsure of his role since he had given away his lairdship. But after the fire, when Eliza had started to fit in, he felt himself fitting right back in as well. 

He was in the middle of writing out different tasks for each man to do, when a shadow came over his desk.

“And what will my task be, Locklylack?” 

Jamie looked up at Eliza with a smile. “What do ye mean, lass?”

She looked at him with a bit of impatience, “I mean that I want a task to do, to help build the barn.”

He frowned then. “The men are doin that, lass. The women usually do the cleaning and the cooking, while we build stuff, fix things up. I ken it’s different in yer time, but this is how we do it here.”

“But I’m not like the women here, James.”

He sighed softly and put his pencil down.

“I ken, Buff, I ken.... but if the people were to see ye doing men’s work, like say liftin’ things heavier than ye, it would...raise suspicion, ye ken?”

“Well, I’ll just tell them that I’m strong because I grew up doing things like that and I won’t lift anything heavier than me. I wouldn’t want to ruin your manly egos and all that.” She said with a grin.

“Buffy, I don’t think that would work. I ken ye want to help and I appreciate it, but....Do ye no like helping out Jenny wit the chores? Ye dinna have to do that if ye dinna want to.”

“No, no, I DO like helping Jenny. A lot actually. She’s been great. Really great. I’ve never done this before, you know. I’ve never had to do chores and all that, I didn’t really have time...with all of the slaying.”

His eyes softened, “So, why do ye wanna work on the barn if ye like doin the house things?”

“I don’t know. I just..” She turned away from him then and started pacing the length of the study. “I wasn’t made for this. I wasn’t made to do the laundry, to cook. I wasn’t meant to have a home like this. To have a family, a husband.” She turned back to him then, her gaze penetrating him.

“This all just feels...wrong somehow. I was meant for ambush tactics, beheading, hunting, violence, a short life span. You know, most slayers don’t even make it to the age of eighteen. I’m practically ancient for a slayer.” She laughed humorlessly. “I just...feel so lost. Like I have no purpose anymore.”

Jamie’s heart clenched at that and his hand closed into tight fists.

“Ye always do that.”

She looked up surprised, “Do what?”

“Ye speak of yerself like being the slayer is all that ye are.”

“But it is what I am.”

“Aye, but it’s no the only thing.... ye are so much more. Ye can do anything ye want, lass. Be anything ye want.”

“I don’t know what I want anymore, James.” She sighed.

He watched her from across the room. He felt helpless at seeing her so lost, when a thought occurred to him.

“Buffy, when ye first came here and realized where ye were. Did ye...did ye try to find a way back?”

She looked at him with wide eyes, unprepared for the subject change. “Of course, I did. I hunted down every self proclaiming witch, demon ,shaman that I could find. None of them could help me....Why do you ask?”

He looked deep in thought. “Well, maybe...what if ye could go back?”

“What? How?”

“The stones. The ones that Claire went through. Maybe ye could go through them.”

Eliza shook her head in disbelief.

“But... but you said that they didn’t work for everyone, you even tried and it didn’t work.”

He nodded solemnly, “Aye, but it’s worked for others, it COULD work for ye.”

She looked at him flabbergasted. “James. Where is this even coming from?”

“Well, I was just thinkin’ if ye were no happy here, then maybe there was a way ye could get home or at least ye could go to a different time.”

She was once again touched at his thoughtfulness. And she did think about it. When James first told her about Claire traveling through time. Could the stones work for her too? She didn’t think so and even if they did, she had no idea where they would take her. Claire had ended up in a random time, two hundred years from her own. The same thing could happen to her and she would be in an even bigger mess. 

“James. I don’t want to go to a different time period and I never said I wasn’t happy, all I said was that I wanted to help you build the barn.” She said gently.

“But I dinna ken how that is better than doin the laundry?”

She looked at him amused, “Because I don’t get to spend time with you when I’m doing the laundry.”

“Oh.” The tips of his ears turned pink. He had felt sick to his stomach when he suggested that she try the stones to go home. He hated the thought of her leaving, but he found that he hated the thought of her being unhappy even more. 

“Well, I spose ye could come help me cut down the wood, but we will no do it out in the open for anyone to see.”

She smiled, “Yes sir.” As she went to leave, his soft voice stopped her.

“Ye dinna have to stay here if ye dinna want to, ye ken. Just say the word and I’ll take ye to the stones.” He said softly.

“I ken....I’ll see you tomorrow, Locklylack.”

—————————-——————-

The next few weeks, Eliza found herself really enjoying her life at Lallybroch. She spent her early mornings with Jamie, helping him do the ‘manly’ things when no one was around. 

She spent the rest of her days with Jenny, doing the daily chores. She had gotten comfortable there, she really started to feel like she was fitting in, like she had a place she belonged. But there was another part of her that yearned to be out on the road, to be looking for danger so that she could slay it. She tried to shut off that part of her the best she could.

———————————-

“Ye ken that Hogmanay is in a couple of days, lass?”

Eliza and Jamie were sitting at the creek together. The barn had been completed the day before and they were enjoying a moment where they could actually relax.

“Hogmanay? What’s that?” Eliza asked, her nose scrunching up in that way that Jamie found adorable.

“Ye dinna have Hogmanay in the future? It’s a big celebration on the last day of every year. It was always my favorite day, growin’ up. Jenny’s been plannin fer it fer weeks.”

“Oh! Yes, yes, we have that, but we call it New Years Eve.” 

“Aye.” Jamie nodded. “I havena been home fer it in a long time and I think Jenny is a lil over excited about it.”

“I see and what exactly do you do on this Hagminny?”

Jamie laughed, now being used to her mispronunciations, he was even starting to find it cute. God, help him.

“Hogmanay, lass. Well, we do what ye normally do when ye celebrate. Drink of course. Have a fine feast. Dancing. And then there’s the first foot.”

“What’s the first foot?”

“It’s when ye go to someone’s home and be the first guest of the year, it’s spose to be good luck. But I canna ever be the first foot though.” He ducked his head down with a twinge of sadness in his voice.

“Why?”

“It’s...it’s bad luck fer a red haired man to be the first foot.”

She laughed, but then stopped when she realized he wasn’t kidding. “Are you serious?”

He nodded. “Oh aye, verra serious, they say red heads bring terrible luck.”

“Uh huh, and what about blondes?”

“Och! They bring no luck at all.” He smiled at her cheekily then.

“Hey!” She bumped him with her shoulder, using just a teeny bit of slayer strength.

“Oh! Dinna shoot the messenger, lass!....What about yer...New Years eve? What do ye do?”

“Well, the same thing, people party all night and drink and dance. We don’t do that first feet thing though, we actually have a different tradition.” She didn’t continue, feeling nervous for some reason.

“And what tradition is that, Buff?”

“Well, there’s usually a countdown to midnight, you start at ten and then when you reach one, you kiss someone and then say ‘Happy New Year!”

“Kiss?” Jamie asked, surprised by that.

“Yes, I think it’s supposed to bring good luck or something for the new year.”

“I see. And it doesna matter who ye kiss?”

“Usually it would be your significant other, but if you didn’t have one then you’d kiss a stranger or just be depressed and lonely all night, I suppose.”

“And did ye do that? Kissed a stranger?”

“Me? No, no, no. I didn’t usually go to New Years parties, I was always busy.” She said, wistfully.

“Saving the world?”

She smiled and looked at him coyly, “Sometimes.” 

Jamie took a moment and just looked at her. He found her so fascinating. She was a true warrior, a much better one than himself. She was selfless and honorable, a hero. Not to mention how beautiful she was. After she saved Ian from the fire, his feelings for her had grown exponentially. And there was something about when he was near her, he felt this...connection. Something he had only felt when he was with Claire. He had a feeling that she felt it too, based off that kiss all those weeks ago.

He had meant it when he said he didn’t deserve her, that she needed someone better than him. But the more time he spent with her, the more time he got to know the real her,the harder it was for him to fight his feelings. He was in love with Buffy Summers and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to change it. 

Before giving himself a chance to think about it, he reached out and grabbed her tiny hand, holding it between his large ones. He saw the look of surprise in her eyes, her quick intake of breath, but she didn’t move.

“Buffy, there’s somethin that I-“

“James Fraser! Just what do ye think yer doin? Sittin about on yer arse when there’s work to be done.” They were interrupted by his sister’s shrill voice.

“Och! Jenny! The barn is done! Dinna ye think I should have a wee bit of rest after that?” He yelled back at her as she approached the creek, hands on her hips.

“No, brathair. I need the fence mended and painted before the party. We dinna want the people to think a bunch of lazy wallopers live here.”

Jamie sighed, knowing that he was defeated. With one last regretful look at Eliza, he let go of her hand and got up and made his way back towards the house.

Jenny watched the exchange with knowing eyes. She sat down in Jamie’s place.

“Ye ken, I’m actually glad that we have a moment to talk, Eliza.”

Eliza looked over at her, surprised. She was still thinking about whatever just happened with Jamie. One minute they were just sitting and talking like always and then the next, something switched in him, she could feel his nervousness. Whatever he was going to say was important, but now she was afraid she would never hear it.

Trying to push her curiosity aside, she focused on Jenny.

“What did you want to talk about, Jenny?”

“Actually, I wanted to apologize to ye.” 

“Apologize? What on earth do you need to apologize for?” 

“The way I was, when ye first got here.” Jenny replied, ducking her head down in shame.

“Jenny...you don’t have to apologize-“

“No, no, no I was cruel to ye and it was no fair to ye. I just... the last time Jamie brought a girl home, she was....well she became family. Not only did Jamie love her, but I loved her. She became like a sister to me and then she...she died. And I was devastated.” Jenny’s voice started to shake as she spoke, she took a moment to compose herself. “And when I saw ye with Jamie, and I saw the way ye looked at each other. I just felt like he was tryna replace her with ye and it just made me so upset. I’m sorry, Eliza. I dinna ken if I should even be tellin ye this, if Jamie would even want me to-“

Eliza reached over and grabbed her hand. “It’s okay. Jamie told me all about Claire.”

Jenny looked at her with surprise, “He did?”

She nodded, “Yes. And I know how important she is-was to him. I would never try to take her place, Jenny. And besides, Jamie and I are just friends.”

Jenny rolled her eyes then and scoffed. “Please, Eliza. Ye dinna have to lie to me. After gettin to know ye these past few weeks, I actually think that ye and Jamie are perfect for each other. Since ye two have been here, he seems verra happy. I havena seen him smile so much in..well ever, actually.”

Eliza laughed somewhat uncomfortably. “That’s nice, Jenny, but you’re way off base. James and I are friends, nothing more.”

“Uh huh. Sure ye are.” Jenny said, smiling.

Eliza sighed. “Well, there may have been a..moment on the way here, where I kissed him and-“

Jenny gasped, “I knew it! I knew it! See! Ye dinna have-“

“Jenny! Jenny! You didn’t let me finish!” She scolded her gently.

Jenny ducked her head, “Sorry, continue, continue!”

“So, I kissed him, but he made it quite clear that we couldn’t be anything more than friends.”

Jenny nodded, deep in thought and then said, “Well, I dinna ken if ye know this, but my brother is an idiot.”

Eliza laughed. “Jenny. We BOTH agreed that it would be better that way.... If we did become...romantically involved. It would just make things way too complicated. Besides relationships never end well for me anyways.”

“Och! So ye’re both idiots then.”

“Jenny!” Eliza looked at her with shock.

“Okay, okay. My brother, he deserves to be happy and I think ye do too. But if ye two wanna sit around and pretend like ye’re not madly in love with each other then I canna stop ye.” Jenny then got up and started to head back towards the house.

“Thanks Jenny....I think.” Eliza called out to her.

“Anytime, Eliza, anytime.”

———————————————

A few days later, Hogmanay was in full swing at Lallybroch. Eliza found herself standing in the main room, surrounded by Scots merrily singing and sloshing their whiskey about. There was a magical feeling in the air. It was quite beautiful.

She watched as Jenny danced with Ian, laughing together. She couldn’t help but smile at them. She had grown close to them in the few months she had been at Lallybroch. After losing everything she knew when she jumped into that portal, she never thought that she would find a place that felt like Sunnydale, like home. 

As she took in the rest of the guests dancing and having a good time, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed at the absence of a certain red head. After her conversation with Jenny, she couldn’t help but wonder if she was right. Did Jamie really care for her in that way? 

Did she even care for him in that way?

Yes, of course she did, who was she trying to fool. After Angel, she never thought that she would meet anyone that made her feel that way again. That made her feel like they were the only two people in the world and the lights dimmed everywhere else. 

She wanted to talk to him tonight, to ask him straight out, how he felt about her, if what Jenny said was true. But after their one embarrassing yet incredible kiss, she was terrified that he would reject her again. She knew that it was different now since he knew who she really was, since she bared her soul to him and-

“Pardon me, belle femme?”

Eliza thoughts were interrupted by a familiar French voice.

“Fergus! Hello. My, don’t you look handsome.”

The young man blushed furiously. 

“Thank you, mademoiselle. I was hoping that you would dance with me?”

Eliza had a feeling that he may have developed a little crush on her. He always tended to be around and call her little French names. It seemed harmless so far, but she always did get a little flashback of Xander when he smiled at her. She wasn’t sure if that was a bad thing or a good thing.

She shrugged her shoulders and nodded at him. What the hell? It was a party and just one little dance. 

He took her hand and they slowly got into the rhythm of the upbeat music and tried to keep up with everyone else. It wasn’t before long they were laughing at themselves and just enjoyed the music. 

The music abruptly changed and turned into a slow song. Eliza watched the couples get closer together. Fergus shyly put his arm around her shoulder and gently swayed them to the beat of the song. She could see him blushing again, but ignored it and let him lead the dance. 

It wasn’t long before a hand tapped on Fergus’ shoulder.

“Pardon me, a bhailach, but I was hopin I could dance wit our bonny Lady, here.”

“Oh! Oui! Milord, but of course. Thank you, Lady Eliza.” Fergus kissed her hand and bowed slightly and then drifted away into the crowd.

Jamie then bowed and offered her his hand. She smiled at him and took it. He then wrapped his arm around her back, pulling her close. He rested his head on top of hers and effortlessly waltzed around the room with her. It was an entirely different experience than dancing with Fergus, not to mention how much bigger Jamie was. She hadn’t felt so safe in her life. She sighed in content and let Jamie lead her around the dance floor.

“I think the wee lad is in love wit ye, ye ken?” He said softly to her after a few moments.

Eliza shook her head in disbelief, but didn’t stop dancing.

“He is NOT in love with me, maybe he has a little crush, but it’s not a big deal.”

Jamie chuckled softly. “I dinna ken what a crush is, but ye better be careful before he proposes to ye.” He said cheekily.

Eliza shoved his chest none too gently. He groaned at the slight pain. “He is not going to propose, James, you’re being ridiculous. Besides he seems like he’s already moved on from me just fine.”

She nodded her head towards Fergus who was now dancing with a pretty blonde girl, who had a huge smile on her face.

James nodded, “Oh aye, I suppose he has. Well, that’s a good thing fer me then.” 

Eliza pulled back slightly so she could look up at his face, “What do you mean for you?”

He stared down at her, like he was mesmerized by her, “It means less competition fer me, ye ken?”

Eliza shook her head in confusion. “No, I don’t KEN James. Less competition for what?”

“Fer yer heart.”

She swore that said heart had stopped and she forgot how to breathe in that moment, but by some miracle she was still able to remain standing. Was he really saying what she was hoping he was saying?

“James, what are you talking about?”

He took a deep breath. After the other day, he had decided that it was time for him to tell her how he really felt. He had spent the whole day going over his speech in his head, trying to come up with the perfect words. But standing there with her in his arms, he found himself lost in her eyes, forgetting everything he had practiced. 

He slowly lowered his head and leaned into her, his lips searching for hers. He was centimeters away when he heard a voice that he never thought he would hear again.

“JAMIE FRASER! Is that really ye?”

His heart dropped and he sighed deeply, not only frustrated by the interruption, but by who was interrupting him. He gritted his teeth and with an apologetic look towards Eliza he turned to the intruder.

“Laoghaire.”


	15. Chapter 15

“Laoghaire.”

Eliza stepped back from Jamie as the blonde woman approached them. The moment she left his embrace, the woman flung herself into his arms, cackling loudly.

Eliza watched as Jamie cringed, but schooled his face into a polite expression as the blonde pulled slightly back to be able to look at him, keeping her back purposefully to Eliza. She started talking to him in Gaelic at a very fast pace. After a while she finally switched back to English, seeming to gain some control of herself.

“Oh! It’s verra fine to see ya, Jamie.” 

Jamie nodded noncomittedly, “Aye, aye...have ye met Lady Eliza?”

He pulled himself completely out of her clutches and walked around her to wrap his arm around Eliza’s shoulder, trying to create as much physical space between them.

Laoghaire scowled at the sudden distance between her and Jamie, and at the way he touched the little blonde lass. She quickly plastered on a fake, friendly smile that Eliza could see right through.

“Oh, no. I dinna think I have. Hello, I’m Laoghaire Mackimmie.” She bowed to her.

“Hi, my name is Eliza. It’s nice to meet you.” She reluctantly bowed as well. “So, you and James. You two know each other well, then?”

Laoghaire seemed to give her an odd look for the way she spoke, but thankfully didn’t comment on it.

“Oh, aye! Jamie and I ken each other verra well, don’t we? He was even my first kiss.”

Eliza’s eyebrows shot up at that and Jamie choked on the whiskey he had desperately needed in that moment.

“Really? Wow, you were really close then?” 

Laoghaire nodded. “Aye, verra close, we even-“

“It was a verra, VERRA long time ago, a nighean.” Jamie finally interjected, speaking directly to Eliza.

Laoghaire’s face fell slightly at the way Jamie addressed the other woman. She was about to say something to try to get back his attention when a little red haired ball of energy flung itself right into Jamie’s leg, holding on tightly.

“Oomph.” Jamie jumped with surprise and then looked down at the little girl with bright red hair that matched his own. “Well, hallo there.”

She looked up at him with a toothless grin, “Hi!” 

“Joanie. What did I say about latchin’ on to folks like that, come here.” Laoghaire grabbed the little girl’s arm and pulled her to stand next to her. 

“I’m sorry, mama.”

“James, this is my daughter, Joan.” Jamie looked surprised at this but then proceeded to kneel down in front of the little girl.

“Hello, I’m Jamie Fraser. It’s verra nice to meet such a pretty lassie like ye’self.”

Joan then blushed and shyly buried her face into her mother’s skirts.

“Och! Shy now, are ye? That’s okay, lass.” He got back up with a look that Eliza noticed he got whenever he was around children. He always had a look of yearning about him, like he wished they were his own. It made her stomach tighten at the reminder of what Jamie had lost. She cleared her throat.

“Your daughter is very beautiful, Laoghaire.”

“Aye, thank ye...Jamie, ye must meet my other daughter, Marsali. Come.” She pointed toward the young blonde that Fergus was dancing with and then latched on to Jamie’s arms much like the way her four year old daughter had clung to his leg moments before. Jamie’s eyes widened and he tried to discreetly pull away from Laoghaire, but she was having none of it. She held onto him with a steel grip.

“Oh, I’d love to Laoghaire, but Eliza and I were just-“ he tried to stutter out an excuse but was cut off by Eliza herself.

“It’s alright James, you should go and get reacquainted. I’ll be alright.” 

She then watched as he was helplessly dragged off by Laoghaire Mackimmie. There was something about her that Eliza found...off. She could tell by Jamie’s reaction that he wasn’t as happy to see the other woman as she was to see him. 

She knew that he was about to kiss her before she showed up. She was disappointed that they were interrupted yet again, but there was something nagging at her in the back of her mind. Something about the way he had looked at that little girl. The way that Laoghaire had acted so familiar with him, when Eliza had never even heard of her.

“I’m so sorry, Eliza.” 

She wasn’t sure how long she was standing there before her thoughts were interrupted by a somber voice.

“Sorry about what, Jenny?” She looked at Jamie’s sister who was also watching him with Laoghaire and her daughters.

“I uh- I invited Laoghaire here.”

Eliza looked at her in confusion, “Okay and that’s a bad thing because why? Who exactly is she anyways?”

“Well, she used to live at Leoch where our uncle was Laird. She was infatuated with Jamie when he lived there, but of course he had married Claire. I think she was devastated by it, but she put on a brave front and seemed to move on when she married Hugh Mackenzie. He died in the war, she married again and she had her two daughters, but he died a couple of years ago, leaving Laoghaire a poor widow.” Jenny then took a deep breath and looked at Eliza with something she could only describe as guilt.

“When Jamie came back home with....you. I thought....well, I thought he needed to be with someone from our clan, someone who he could have a family with. So I wrote to Laoghaire and I told her that Jamie would be here at Hogmanay and he was askin’ to see her.”

“Jenny!” Eliza gasped.

“I ken! I ken! But Eliza it was before...before ye and I became close! Before I realized how good ye are fer him! I just completely forgot that she was comin’ tonight.”

Eliza shook her head. “But you said that you knew how Jamie felt about me when we first met.”

Jenny nodded solemnly, “Aye, but I dinna think ye were good enough fer him. It was before I knew ye. But at the time I thought that if he met Laoghaire again, he would see it as a chance to have a family, to be a father.”

“Jenny. I... I don’t know what to say.” 

“I was wrong, Eliza.”

Eliza stood there, still watching Jamie with the Mackimmies. There was a fast song playing now and he was dancing around with Joan standing on his feet, they were both laughing. Laoghaire was watching with a wide smile on her face.

“No, ye weren’t.” She said quietly.

Jenny’s eyes widened, “What? Of course, I was. Eliza, I-“

Eliza grabbed her hands and turned both of them away from the dance floor, unable to stomach the scene in front of her any longer.

“No. Jamie does deserve to have a family. He deserves to be with someone who...is from his home....I’ve seen the way he looks at any child that comes by him. You and I both know that Jamie was always meant to be a father. If he was with Laoghaire, he could have that. It’s a good choice, Jenny.” 

“Eliza! No. I WAS wrong. And aye, Jamie should be a father, I ken he’s a bit older than ye, but ye are verra young, ye two could still have-“

“No.” Eliza shook her head sharply. “I...I can’t have children, Jenny.” 

She had found out just months before she came here, when she was reading all of the watcher’s diaries of past slayers. They had made sure that the slayer was always barren. They didn’t want anything to distract the slayer and interfere with their precious work. It wasn’t enough to turn her into a freak, they had to make her sterile as well. Eliza thought bitterly.

She had never wanted to have kids herself, but she couldn’t help feeling upset that another decision was made for her. 

“Eliza, it’s okay, ye dinna have-“

Jenny tried to console her, but she had had enough.

“I’m sorry, Jenny, I should go, thank you for inviting me tonight.” 

“Eliza, wait!”

She rushed past her and grabbed a bottle of whisky as she bolted out the door, feeling a lot less hopeful than she did mere minutes before.

—————————————

She had ended up in front of the newly completed barn. She could still smell the paint as she sat down on the concrete steps in front of it. There wasn’t a single soul in sight. She could hear them all inside the house whooping and hollering. Midnight must be soon then, she thought.

She sat there, drinking the whiskey she had snagged. She had never liked drinking before, but she had started to get used to it. Johnny had gotten her into drinking wine. She started drinking the whiskey because of Jamie, she could barely remember a time when he didn’t have a flask of whiskey on him. It seemed to be the only way he could function. If they were in the 21st century, he would be considered a raging alcoholic, but here, it was just normal behavior.

“Och! There ye are!” 

The subject of her thoughts seemed to appear out of thin air. She looked up at him then, feeling her stomach tie in knots.

“Here, I am.” She said simply as she took another swig from the bottle. She wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting there before Jamie found her, but it was definitely long enough for her to start to feel a bit of a buzz from the alcohol.

Jamie frowned slightly at her, sensing that something was off.

“What are ye doin’ out here? It’s almost midnight, they’re about to start the first foot. Ye should come inside.”

She shook her head. “I’m good right here. You should go though.”

“Eliza, is something wrong?”

She shook her head. “No, Jamie. If you don’t mind, I really would rather be alone at the moment.”

Jamie was baffled by her behavior. Everything seemed fine earlier, but now she was giving him the cold shoulder. Well he’d be damned if he let her push him away, not now.

“Actually I do mind.” He then sat down right next to her, forcing her to scoot down to try to get some space from him, but he just scooted closer to her. 

“Now, what’s going on a nighean?”

Eliza sighed, “Really, James. I’m fine. You should go back inside...you should go back to Laoghaire.”

“Ah.” Jamie sighed as well. “This is about her then. Eliza, Laoghaire doesna mean anything to me.”

“Really? Your first kiss doesn’t mean anything to you. Wow, and I thought you were chivalrous”

“She wasna my first kiss, she said that I was hers, which honestly I dinna even believe anyways.”

Eliza looked at him incredulously.

“Which I suppose doesna make me look any better.” He sighed again. “Look. That was a verra, verra long time ago and I only kissed her to make Claire jealous.”

“Oh! So you used her then. Nice one, James. You really are holding up that chivalry thing.”

“Christ! Aye, it wasna a verra nice thing I did, but I was young and foolish. Where is this even comin’ from, Buffy?”

She took a deep breath, preparing herself for what she had to say.

“I think you should go back inside, James. You should go back to Laoghaire.”

“I dinna wanna be with Laoghaire. I wanna be here, with ye.”

She stood up then to create some sort of space between them. Having him so close would only make this harder.

“I’m leaving, James.”

“Okay.” He said slowly, completely confused about what was going on. “Then I’ll go inside wit ye.”

“No!” She practically shouted and then spoke in a calmer tone. “No, I mean I’m leaving, leaving. I’m leaving Lallybroch.” 

He stood up as well, in surprise. “What!?”

“Yeah, I’m leaving in the morning actually.”

Jamie felt all of the air leave his lungs, he started to feel woozy. He sat back down.

“What do ye- I dinna understand. I thought- well, I thought...when did ye decide this?”

She watched him with wide eyes. “An hour ago.”

He looked up at her in shock, “An hour...this IS because of Laoghaire....Buffy. Ye have it all wrong. Before she showed up tonight, I was goin’ to-“

“DONT!” She held up her hand and shouted at him. “Please don’t.” She said, her voice starting to shake.

He stood back up and slowly walked towards her, his hands held up in a surrender position. 

“Buffy. A nighean. Please. What is goin on? Tell me. I need to know what’s wrong and I can fix it.”

She looked up at him, her eyes filling with tears. “You can’t fix it, James.”

“Buffy, ye’re scarin’ me here. Talk to me, lass!”

She turned away from him and slowly started to pace back and forth.

“I can’t have children.” 

His eyes widened in surprise. With everything he was imagining she was going to say, it was definitely not that.

“I’m sorry, Buff. Did ye...did ye just find out? It’s okay if-“

“No, no. I’ve known for a while.....I’m the slayer, James. I was built to be a machine that kills, not to have a family. Not to, not to be in love.”

His heart squeezed painfully. “Buffy. What are ye saying?”

“I’m sayin that whatever this thing is...between us... it can’t be anything more. I think it’s best if we go our separate ways.”

“I see.” He said calmly, hiding the hailstorm of feelings that were happening in his heart. “And what is it, exactly that ye think is between us Buffy?”

“James. Please. Don’t make this any harder.” She turned and faced him, her eyes pleaded with his, begging him to let her push him away. He ignored it.

“Tell me!”

“James! I can’t! Just go! Please!”

“Tell me and I’ll go.”

“I LOVE YOU! Okay??? Is that what you wanted to hear? I love you, you stupid, stubborn Scot!”

He gasped and tried to grab her arms, but she shoved him away. Hard.

“Don’t. Don’t you see? It doesn’t matter, James. You said so yourself that we couldn’t be together!”

“Buffy. That was before I knew ye, before I really knew ye. Now that I do, I...”

“Stop, James, please!” She begged him to stop talking but he moved back towards her and grabbed her arms again, this time she let him. He rested his forehead against hers as he spoke.

“I am so madly in love with ye, Buffy Anne Eliza Winters Summers. I canna even think straight.”

She inhaled sharply, the tears were pouring down her face now. “You shouldn’t.”

“Why?”

“Because I just told you! I can’t give you children. I wasn’t made to be a little housewife who does the laundry and tends to the garden. I am a warrior, a fighter! I need to be out there, slaying, helping people.”

“Okay, then. We dinna have to stay here, Buff. We can go anywhere. You and me on the road, savin’ people.”

She pushed him away from her. “You don’t want that, James. You are meant to be here with your family. And you deserve to have one of your own. And if you could marry someone who already has children that you could be a father to, well that’s even better isn’t it?”

“What?!? Ye really think that I should marry Laoghaire? Christ! Are ye even hearin’ yerself? Ye really have gone mad!” He moved to grab her again but she backed away, shaking her head. “I dinna understand, Buffy. I love ye, ye say ye love me. I dinna wanna be wit anyone, who is not ye. Family or no, I dinna want all of that.”

“Yes, you do, James!”

He flung his arms into the air out of frustration. “And ye ken what I want now, do ye? And ye think I want to be married to Laoghaire, a lass I dinna love or like verra much, fer the rest of my life?! And ye’ll what? Go off and wander around the world, all alone for the rest of yers?”

“It’s better this way, James. Really. My life....it’s dangerous. If you were with me, you could get hurt or worse.”

“I can protect myself, lass....Besides I’m not lettin’ ye end up alone. If ye leave, I’ll follow ye.”

“James! That’s not.. please, James! Just stop! I’m trying to do the right thing here!”

“The right thing here is us! Ye and me together! Don’t ye see that?”

She turned away from him then, to try to compose herself. She wanted to believe him, to just fall into his arms and live happily ever after. She knew that she was being a coward, but she was so scared of things going wrong, of him getting hurt because of her.

He watched her shoulders tighten, he could feel her distress. He wasn’t sure if he was getting through to her, but he decided that he wasn’t going to stop trying until he did. 

Eliza looked up at the house when she heard a loud commotion followed by hollering and laughter. She stood there, debating on what she should do next when Jamie’s soft voice startled her.

“10....9....8...”

She turned to face him, confused. “James, what are ye-“

“7.....6....5..”

He walked towards her, his body filling all of the space in front of her.

“4.”

“James...”

He was looking at her like he was looking into her soul. He was pleading with her to let him in, to give him a chance. To give them a chance.

“3”

“3.” Eliza came to a decision then and her soft voice joined his deep one.

“2.” ”2.”

“1.” “1.” 

Then his lips were on hers. He pulled her close, enveloping her in his warm embrace. She could feel him pouring all of his emotions into the kiss. She grabbed onto his shoulders and tried to pull him even closer. She swore that she could feel his soul melding with hers somehow.

When she finally pulled back, he was smiling down at her.

“Happy New Years Buffy.”

She smiled back, “Happy New Years, James.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally!! The moment we were waiting for! Thank you to everyone for the kudos and reviews. I REALLY, REALLY appreciate it. The story is really going to pick up in the next chapter!! I hope to hear more feedback. 😊😊


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ⚠️Warning ⚠️ The first part is very NSFW! 
> 
> Translations:  
> Mo maise- my beauty  
> Mo muirninn- my darling

Two years later....

Buffy was sitting on her bed with a handsome, red-haired Scot beneath her. He was still asleep, his face looked so peaceful, like he didn’t have a care in the world, a stark difference to when he was awake. She slowly traced the hard planes of his cheek bones with a featherlight touch, careful not to wake him yet. Her hand traveled down his neck towards his rock hard chest and stomach. 

She still couldn’t believe that this man was forty-six years old. He had a better body than most men she had seen, even ones in their twenties. 

Her lips started following her hands. She slowly kissed her way down his chest. She felt him inhale deeply when she reached his stomach, but he didn’t wake. She pulled the covers off of him, revealing all of his perfect body.

He was already hard for her, even in his sleep. She smiled to herself and then gripped him tightly in her hand, she started stroking him gently. He groaned deeply, but when Buffy looked up to see if he was awake, his eyes were still closed.

She slowly wrapped her lips around him and took him into her mouth. She groaned herself, at the feel of him growing harder. She took him in as deep as she could, thoroughly enjoying herself. Before she knew it, she heard a growl and she was suddenly ripped away from her self assigned task and thrown down onto the bed. Her sleep shirt was ripped off of her. 

She looked up and found said handsome Scot leering down at her. 

“What do ye think yer doin’ lass?” His voice was gravelly from sleep and his eyes were nearly black with arousal. Buffy’s stomach clenched with excitement.

She smiled at up him, unbothered by his roughness, she was quite turned on by it actually. 

“Well, I WAS sucking my husband’s cock, hoping to make him cu-“

He growled loudly again and lifted her legs, thrusting himself inside of her in one smooth movement. She came almost instantly with a loud moan. 

He made love to her roughly, groaning as well, he was whispering into her ear, telling her how good she felt. As he got closer to his release, he started speaking in Gaelic, unable to think straight any longer. 

Knowing that he couldn’t last much longer he reached down between them to rub her clit. She started moaning even louder. He then bit down onto her neck causing her to cum again, he followed shortly after with a shout.

“Ah! Buffy!”

He collapsed on top of her, careful not to put his full weight on her. They were both panting loudly, enjoying the afterglow of their lovemaking. After a few moments, Jamie kissed her hair and made to roll off of her, but Buffy stopped him and wrapped her arms around him to keep him from moving.

“No, I like you right here.”

Jamie smiled against her cheek, “I’m too heavy, mo maise.”

Buffy shook her head, “No, you’re perfect.”

He chuckled softly and then swiftly rolled over, keeping her in his arms, reversing their positions.

“Cheater.” She huffed, but then snuggled closer to him. Jamie rested his head on top of hers and stroked the soft skin of her back lightly.

“No that I’m complainin’ mo bandia oir, but what was that fer?”

She smiled against his chest and then looked up into his eyes.

“I thought it would be a nice start for your birthday.”

He kissed the top of her head, “Oh, aye, it was verra, verra nice, mo maise. I wish I could spend the whole day in bed wit ye.”

She crawled up his body to straddle him again, “Well, that sounds like a plan then doesn’t it?” She kissed him deeply, he quickly responded and wrapped his arms around her tightly. She moved down to his neck to kiss behind his ear, a spot that she discovered was extra sensitive. He moaned and then rolled them back over so he was straddling her.

“Mo bhan-dia òir, ye dinna ken what ye do to me, do ye?” He whispered into her ear.

She smiled and then wrapped her legs around him, rubbing her core against his hardening cock. “I think that I have an idea,” she whispered back. 

He groaned loudly. “Christ! Ye’ll be the death of me, lass. Ye ken that?”

She only continued to rub against him harder. He tried to pull away from her then.

“As much as I would love to have ye naked beneath me all day, lass, ye ken that I have to go to work.”

“Do you really have to go?”

She pouted up at him prettily. Her eyes wide, her lower lip jutting out in that adorable way that she knew he wouldn’t be able to resist.

“Dinna make that face, lass. Ye ken that I had to work today.” 

“But it’s your birthday! And aren’t you the boss? Just give yourself the day off.” 

He groaned again and then kissed her passionately, the moment that she closed her eyes, he jumped up and out of bed. She tried to grab him when she realized what he was doing, but he was too quick. 

“Hey!”

“I’m sorry, mo maise, but I have ta finish those pamphlets today and I fear Geordie will burn down the shop if I leave him alone because my wife wouldna let me outta bed again...And aren’t ye supposed to be meetin’ wit Madam Jeanne today?”

Buffy huffed and pulled herself to a sitting position against the headboard, crossing her arms across her chest.

“I guess.” She said shortly.

Jamie smiled gently at her, amused by her little tantrum. He went back to the bed and leaned over her.

“But tonight, when I get home, I expect ye to be in this same position waitin’ fer me to have my way wit ye.”

She slowly grinned up at him, “And what exactly do you plan on doing with me, Mr. Fraser?”

“Ye’ll have to wait and see, Mrs. Fraser.” He kissed her forehead and then started to get ready for the day. Buffy watched him moving around the room, there were days that she found it hard to believe that this incredible, gorgeous specimen of a man was actually her husband.

——————————————————-

After they had FINALLY confessed to one another how they felt about each other, everything seemed to fall into place for Buffy and Jamie. 

A few days after Hogmanay, Buffy was working in the garden with Jenny.

“So....” Jenny began. 

“Sooo what?” Buffy urged her to go on when Jenny didn’t continue speaking.

“Soooo... what happened wit ye and Jamie the other night?”

“What do you mean?” She said nonchalantly, ignoring the blush she could feel on her cheeks.

“Eliza! I ken that ye and Jamie disappeared before midnight and ye werena seen until the next day. Now, I hope Laoghaire didna cause any troubles fer ye two. I wish I remembered that-“

“Jenny! There was no trouble. Really, Jamie and I are fine...great actually.” She turned her head to try to hide the smile that instantly came to her lips at the thought of the handsome Scot, but Jenny’s keen eyes saw it.

“Oh! I see.” She simply said, not bothering to hide HER smile. “Well, I suppose I’ll be callin’ ye good sister sooner than I thought then.”

Buffy’s eyes grew wide and her cheeks became even redder. “Jenny! That’s not... I mean we just-“

“Relax, Eliza. I couldna be happier for ye. Both of ye.” She kissed the top of her head and smiled at her. “Truly.” Jenny then turned and walked away to go inside, leaving a stunned, yet pleased Buffy in her wake.

As soon as Jenny was inside of the house, out of sight, Buffy was grabbed from behind. Large hands wrapped around her waist, gripping her stomach and a pair of soft lips were pressed against the back of her neck.

“You’re lucky that I heard you coming a mile away or you would’ve ended up with Mr Pointy Two in your eye.” She said as she leaned into the man behind her.

“Och! Ye wouldna maim the man ye love, would ye?” He whispered into her ear.

She smiled and turned around in his arms, reaching her hands up to go around his neck.

“Not on purpose, I suppose.” She replied.

“Ye suppose?” He questioned.

“Well, it depends on if he deserved it or not.”

“And do ye think I deserve it?”

“Not yet.” She whispered as she pulled her self onto her tip toes to kiss him. He gathered her closer to him, returning the kiss eagerly.

“Christ!” He said as he pulled back slightly for air.

“What?” She giggles at the absurd expression on his face.

“I ken that ye were wee, but finally havin ye in my arms like this, ye are downright TINY!.”

“James Fraser! Ye did not just say that!” Her mouth fell open at his rude observation.

She tried to pull away from him, but he held onto her tightly. They both knew she could get away if she truly wanted to, but she didn’t.

“Ye are wee, Buffy. Ye canna fault me fer tellin the truth. Besides...”

“Oh!” She yelped as he grabbed her ass and easily lifted her up so they were face to face.

“I like it.”

She smiled in spite of being offended and wrapped her legs around his waist and put her hands back around his neck.

“Oh, do you?”

“Oh, aye. Verra, verra much.” He kissed her again, she melted into him. He walked her over to the brick wall surrounding the garden, pressing her against it. She leaned into him, feeling the evidence of how much he liked it.

“Oh, mo bhan-dia òir.” He whispered against her lips.

She smiled at him. “Tell me what that means.”

“Buffy, it-“

She grabbed his face as he tried to look away.

“And don’t say it doesn’t translate! I know it must mean something, something important if you keep saying it!”

He stared deep into her eyes, suddenly feeling nervous. He stuttered slightly.

“It... it means golden goddess. MY golden goddess.”

She gasped in surprise, “What? But...but that’s...I’m not-“

He smiled softly. “Oh, aye, ye are. I’ve worshipped ye from the first moment I saw ye.....Ye are kind and honest. Ye are smart and BEAUTIFUL. Yer the most selfless person I’ve ever met, ye are a shining light of good, of grace. I dinna deserve ye, and I dinna ken why ye would ever want to be wit an auld man like me-“

“James! You are not an old man!”

“Oh. Aye, I am. But if I make ye happy then so be it. Ye are stuck wit me and I pity anyone who tries to take ye away from me now.”

Her eyes teared up at his words. “There’s no way that you’re a real person, you know that?”

He chuckled at her, “Och! I’m verra real and I’m no goin’ anywhere, no if ye want me around.”

“Oh, I want you, James, more than I could ever put into words.”

“Good. Because I plan to make ye mine, mo bandia oir. Mine, in every sense of the word.”

“Good.” She echoed.

*********

They had gotten married shortly after that. Buffy never saw herself as the marrying type, but being with Jamie was just so...easy and it just felt right. It was a small ceremony at the same church his parents were married in. The smile on Jamie’s face as she walked down that aisle made her feel like the most loved woman in the world. 

When she had landed in the past, her sole mission was to find a way back home. After she realized that she was stuck there forever, she felt like an empty shell of her former self. She had never imagined that she would ever have friends again or a family, let alone that she would fall in love again. But here she was happily married with a wonderful family and great friends. She felt alive again.

**********

They had left Lallybroch not long after their wedding. They had traveled through Scotland, hitting Banff, then Aberdeen, and Dundee. They spent their time, exploring Jamie’s homeland. There were a few incidents along the way, but nothing the pair couldn’t handle together. They slept in the woods for nights on end, making love under the stars. Sometimes they would stay at an inn if they were able to scrape up the money. 

They didn’t have a penny to their name, but Jamie would pick up an odd job here and there. He would help out at farms that were short handed or play cards with poor drunks who wouldnt know what they were getting into.

Buffy was no slouch when it came to earning an income either. While her husband was good at cards, she was better at arm wrestling. Jamie frowned upon it, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop her and she did make quite a bit of money. No one ever believed that a tiny blonde woman could take on the big Scottish drunks. They never stayed in town long after one of her matches. The men didn’t really handle being beaten by a girl very well.

**************

A few months into their travels they were riding into Edinburgh. There was a man there who had gotten into some trouble and was hurt, hiding just outside of town when the couple found him on their way in.

“James! Stop, I think there’s someone behind that tree.”

Jamie quietly jumped down from his horse and walked towards the tree, Buffy was right behind him. 

“Hello? Is someone there?”

They heard ragged breathing as they got closer and then a loud whimper as the man came into sight. He was leaning against the tree, covered in blood. Buffy ran to get her first aid kit as Jamie approached the man and sat next to him slowly.

“It’s alright, my wife, she can help ye.” The man looked up at him in disbelief. 

He was about to say something when Buffy returned and started to inspect the injured man.

“Where is the blood coming from?” She asked him. He lifted up his shirt to show her two gun shot wounds on his stomach, there were also burn marks on his chest, Buffy didn’t think he had much time left judging by the amount of blood he had lost.

“It’s okay, it’ll be okay.” Her voice shook as she started to clean his wounds, but the man put his hands on top of hers.

“Dinna bother, lass. I’m already dead.” Buffy looked down at him with pity, knowing he was right.

“Who did this to ye, man?” Jamie asked as he put a comforting hand on Buffy’s shoulder.

“It doesna matter. What is done is done. Ye canna help me. Perhaps it’s a good thing ye came along though.” He wheezed out, his voice was very weak.

“What do ye mean?”

The man groaned as he reached around to dig into his pocket. “Easy!” Buffy said as his breathing became more labored.

“Here, take these. They belong to my print shop, it’s yers now, maybe ye can do somethin’ better with it then I ever did.”

He handed a set of keys to Jamie, an address was written on them. “A print shop? Why would ye give it to us?”

“Because I’ve known ye and yer wife fer two minutes and ye have shown me more kindness than most people I’ve known my whole life.” He replied, his voice becoming more feint with each word.

Jamie’s eyes widened in surprise. “Look, I dinna ken how-“

The man started convulsing slightly and then his eyes slowly closed, his breathing came to a stop all together.

Buffy put her ear up to his chest, listening for a heart beat. “He’s gone.” She said quietly, feeling sad and helpless.

Jamie took her hand and lifted her up and away from the man. “There was nothin more ye coulda done, mo bhan-dia òir.”

Buffy nodded, knowing that he was right didn’t help ease her guilt though. She still felt responsible for every person she couldn’t save. 

After they had taken care of the man and gave him a proper burial, they went about their way into Edinburgh.

**********

“A print shop?” Buffy asked as they rode into town, “What on earth would we do with a print shop?”

Jamie looked up at her and she could see the gears turning in his head, her husband was definitely intrigued. “I dinna ken, mo maise, but I’d like to see it.”

Buffy knew that things would change the moment they walked into the shop. She had never given much thought to what print shops looked like in those days, but she was certainly not expecting them to look like this. It was much bigger than she imagined and the design of the building was beautiful.

There were papers hanging everywhere for drying. There was a large printing press on the bottom floor as well as tables covered in ink and more papers. They had certainly come along way in her time of computers. She picked up one of the finished papers on a table nearby. It looked like it could have come from a printer in her time, she had to say she was quite impressed. She looked at her husband and knew he was feeling the same way, for different reasons obviously.

So after a few serious conversations, Jamie took over the shop. It turned out that the previous owner also had a little cottage nearby. They had immediately moved into it, excited to have their first home together. It was a tiny one bedroom house with a small kitchen and a little living room that they could barely fit a couch in, but it was perfect for just the two of them.

Jamie had kept the one employee that worked at the shop, Geordie who was a huge pain in his arse, but he knew a lot about the trade and taught Jamie everything he knew. Jamie was a fast learner and picked it up rather quickly. 

“What are you going to call it? What about Fraser’s prints?” Buffy had asked him one day.

He smiled down at her, “I like that, mo maise, but no, no. I dinna think Fraser will do.”

“What do you mean?” She asked, confused.

“I think I need a different name here, I dinna want anyone to ken who I am, who I was, really. I want a fresh start, for both of us.”

She smiled softly at him in understanding. “I see, so you’ll be Alex MacKenzie again?”

“Actually, I was thinking Malcolm. Alexander Malcolm.” He wrapped his arms around her as he spoke.

“Oh, I like that. Mister Malcolm.”

“Good because you’ll be Mistress Eliza Malcolm.”

Buffy scrunched her nose up at that. “What? I don’t get to be a lady anymore?”

He chuckled softly, “No, ye never really were one, my love.”

She shoved him playfully against the wall, “Oh, really? I’ll show you how much of a lady I am.” 

She then ripped his shirt off of him, his buttons flew all across the room. Jamie growled at her, “That is not lady like at all Mistress Malcolm, ye should be taught a lesson fer that, lass.” Buffy gasped when he roughly lifted her into his arms and carried her to the tiny cot in the corner of the shop and taught her a lesson indeed.

*******

After they had settled in, Jamie had sent for Fergus to come, Young Ian had also come for a few visits when his mother allowed him. Jamie had also started a search for his former prison mates that were still in Scotland. Leslie and Hays were a couple of them who immediately flocked back to him. Buffy would describe them as a rough bunch, but they were kind and entertaining in the least and they would do anything for Jamie..and her.

There were a few occasions that the men got into trouble with their drinking and loud Highlander ways. Buffy had stepped in to help from them from being seriously harmed even though she thought they may have deserved it sometimes. After they got over the shock of being saved by a woman, they grew to appreciate her fight moves, even asking her teach them some of her skills. Soon they worshipped her almost as much as they did Jamie, maybe even more.

Buffy had tried to help Jamie with the shop at first, but after she had ruined an unforgivable amount of pages, they both decided she should pursue something different, but she didn’t know what she would be good at. The unlikely answer to her problem came when Lesley and Hays had met some unsavory men in a pub one night that were smuggling wine from France into Scotland. They had told Jamie all about the scheme the next day.

“And what? Ye think I should smuggle as well?” Jamie had asked them incredulously.

“Well, Mac Dubh, dinna ye have that cousin from France that deals with wine? It would be verra easy fer us.”

“I dinna think that it’s worth-“

“I’m in.”

Jamie turned to his wife in surprise. “What?!”

“Ye heard them. It would be easy for us because of yer cousin.”

“Eliza. This is a messy business we’re talkin’ about. If ye were to get caught ye would be hanged!”

“Well, I better not get caught then huh?” 

Jamie sighed in frustration, “Eliza, it’s not that simple-“

“But maybe it would be if she helped us, Mac Dubh.” Leslie said quietly, knowing this would upset him further.

“Aye! No one would expect a lady to be involved in something like this, especially one like your bonny wife.” Hays chimed in.

Jamie frowned at him, but chose to ignore his comment. “I dinna like this, Buffy.”

She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “You know that I can take care of myself, James and we could use the money and you know that I am going crazy being at the house all day. And besides someone needs to stick around these two knuckleheads to protect them from being killed or worse.”

Jamie’s frown grew deeper as he realized that this was an argument he wasn’t going to win and he would do anything to make Buffy happy, even if he wasn’t comfortable the idea yet.

They had spent the whole night trying to figure out the logistics of it, if it was worth it. In the end they had decided to give it a try, but to Buffy’s annoyance Jamie had to be involved in everything at first, to make sure Buffy would be safe, to her annoyance.

It wasn’t long before they had come to a routine that they both liked. They had made a deal with the owner of the local brothel, Madame Jeanne who Leslie and Hayes were very familiar with. She stored the liquor for them under the brothel while they sold some of it to her at a very cheap price. Buffy met with her frequently surprisingly becoming fast friends with the Madame. 

She also met with the men who brought in the product from France.  
Hays and Leslie were right, no one ever expected a thing when she was transferring the barrels from the beach to the brothel. The men were rude to her at first, but she had set them straight when one of them grabbed her ass. She has broken his hand before Jamie even reached him to teach him his own lesson. Things had gone much smoother after that, Jamie even started to lean back from the smuggling business a bit because he knew how important it was for her have her own thing, to feel independent. 

Buffy and Jamie soon made friends with the local townies, it gave Jamie plenty of business by word of mouth. All in all things were wonderful for them.

Buffy had never been happier in her life, but she couldn’t stop feeling a terrible knot in her stomach from time to time, almost like a feeling of dread. It felt like something was coming, something she wouldn’t to able to stop.

—————————————————————-

“Somethin’ is botherin’ ye, isn’t it?”

“What?” She blinked out of her trip down memory lane to find her husband watching her with a worried expression on his handsome face. “No, no, nothing’s bothering me. I was just...thinking. Nothing to worry about.”

She then got out of the bed, putting her robe on and walked towards the window, where he was standing, trying to tie his cravat. She pushed his hands away to tie it for him.

He looked down at her with a doubtful look and then placed his hand on top of hers, stopping her movements. He lifted her chin up with his other hand to look into her eyes.

“Ye canna lie to me, Buffy. Ye’ve been upset about somethin’ fer days now. I’ve been waitin’ fer ye to come to me about it, but I cannot wait any longer.”

She didn’t know why she was surprised. He always knew what she was thinking, knew what she needed before she did. She sighed.

“James, nothing is wrong.”

“Buffy, I ken that ye’re lyin’, ye dinna have to pretend-“

She pulled out of his embrace and walked around the room, trying to gather her thoughts.

“No, no, no. That’s what’s bothering me! Nothing is wrong!”

Jamie looked at her in confusion, “What do ye mean?”

She stopped pacing and looked back at him. “I mean that I like what I do for a living even though it’s a bit dangerous, but I live for that, obviously.”

Jamie nodded at her, unsure of where she was going with this.

“And we have friends, great friends! And your family, your sister? They’re all amazing. I love living here, in Edinburgh. Our tiny little cottage is perfect for us. And then there’s you!” She looked at him accusatorially.

He looked alarmed then, “Me? What about me?”

“You’re so god damned perfect, it makes my teeth hurt sometimes!”

“Buffy, I’m not-“

She shook her head, “Oh, yes you are! Everyday, I wake up in your arms and I think there’s no way that I could possibly love you more, but then you do something or say something that is so unimaginabley sweet. I feel like my heart will explode.” She shouted angrily.

“Buffy, I dinna understand why that’s a bad thing.”

“I’ve never been this happy before. I’ve never been able to just live my life and not worry about the world ending, you know? And I just....I just have this nagging feeling in the back of my mind.” 

“What feeling?”

“Like I don’t deserve this. Like I’m going to wake up one day and all of this will be gone. YOU will be gone! Like you’re just going to be ripped away from me and there’ll be nothing that I can do about it.” Her eyes teared up at her confession.

He went to her then, putting his hands on her shoulders. “Mo bhan-dia òir. I’ve never felt like this before either, but dinna ye ever think that ye’re gonna lose me, that ye dinna deserve me. I am not going anywhere, I will never leave ye, Buffy. Do ye hear me?”

“But, James, you cant know th-“

“Do ye hear me, Buffy?”

She nodded softly, “Yes, I hear you.”

He leaned his forehead onto hers. “Ye deserve to be happy, Buff and I will spend the rest of my life makin’ sure of that, ye ken?”

“I ken.”

They smiled at each other, Buffy felt like a weight had just been lifted off of her shoulders.

“James, I-“

Knock-knock-knock! 

“Milord, Mademoiselle! Are ye decent?” A familiar, French voice shouted out from the front of the house as they heard the door open and footsteps in the kitchen.

“I’ll be right there!” Jamie sighed and dropped his head against Buffy’s shoulder.

“Just because they knock, that doesna mean they can just come right in.” He muttered into her neck.

She chuckled at him, “I don’t think they’ll ever learn, my love. Especially if Fergie didn’t learn after last week when he walked in on us in the kitchen with you on your knees eating my-“

He placed his hand over her mouth, “Dinna continue that sentence, I willna be able to get the image of ye naked beneath me out of my head for the rest the day, as it is.”

She smiled against his hand and then licked it, surprising him. He laughed at her.

“Och! Yer a wee, wicked besom, ye ken?”

“Och! I ken, Locklylack.” 

Jamie grimaced at her awful imitation of him. “Dinna do that, lass. I dinna sound anything like that.”

She laughed and pushed him out towards the door where Fergus was waiting to walk to work with him. 

“Uh huh, sure you don’t. Now go to work, sweetheart. The sooner you go, the sooner you can come back and do those wicked things to me that you’ve been thinking about.”

He smiled and turned back to her and kissed her, “That’s the smartest thing ye ever said to me, lass!”

She shoved him playfully, “Oh! Get out of here, you old, perverted man!”

“I’ll see ye tonight, mo muirninn. Have a good day and dinna cause too much trouble huh?”

She looked at him in faux surprise and then said with an exaggerated innocent expression on her beautiful face, “Me? Cause trouble? Never.”

He nodded at her, “Oh, aye, I ken you wouldna, but maybe today, ye could just make sure of that huh? Since it is my birthday and all.“

“Yes sir.” She mock saluted him. He grinned at her antics.

“I love ye, Buffy.”

“And I love you, now go before I make you go.” She threatened him.

“Okay, okay, see ye later, mo maise.” 

“I’ll see you later, my Locklylack.” She watched him leave, feeling even more in love with him somehow.

The moment he walked out of the house, she ran to get dressed as quickly as she could. She didn’t mean to start her day so late, but her husband was always a bit of distraction for her. She had a lot of things to get done in a short amount of time so she rushed out of the house without even a bite to eat. She had big plans for Jamie that night and she had to make sure everything was perfect for him.

———————————————————-

Unbeknownst to her, across town, at that same moment, a woman had just arrived in search for her long lost husband that she hadn’t seen for twenty years. 

Claire Elizabeth Beachamp Randall Fraser stepped off of the horse drawn carriage and into a world that she no longer knew, setting off events that she was indeed not prepared for. No one was.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun!! Okay, so there are only a few chapters left of this story. I DO have an idea for a sequel, let me know if you’re interested in reading that, thanks to everyone that leaves comments and kudos, I appreciate it very much!


	17. Chapter 17

Claire Elizabeth Beachamp Randall Fraser stepped off of the horse drawn carriage and into a world that she no longer knew, setting off events that she was indeed not prepared for. No one was.

She made her way down the once familiar streets of Edinburgh. Twenty years didn’t seem to make much of a difference, she thought to herself. The shops all looked the same, though there were a lot more people bustling about. 

Only after a few minutes of walking she found the sign that she was looking for. ‘Alexander Malcolm’ Claire’s breath caught in her throat at the sight of it. She slowly ran her fingers over the letters, feeling for the first time that all of this was real. That Jamie really was just mere feet from her.

Just as she was about to make her way up the stairs, into the printshop, a blonde haired teenager rushed by her, bumping into her arm as he went by. She heard something that sounded like a “Sorry Ma’am “ as he flew up the steps.

“Uncle Jamie! Uncle Jamie!” The boy urgently shouted as he threw open the door. She heard heavy footsteps and then the voice that she had dreamt of hearing for the past twenty years.

“Easy, bhalaich, easy. What is it?” Jamie asked him in a calm tone as he stepped out onto the porch. Claire quickly went behind the stone staircase before he could see her, suddenly feeling very unprepared for their reunion.

“Ye have to come, Uncle! Quickly now!” The boy tugged on the arm of Jamie’s shirt to get him to follow him down the stairs. But Jamie stayed where he was and grabbed the boy’s shoulders to turn him back to face him.

“Come where, Ian? Ye need to calm yerself, take a breath.”

The boy frantically shook his head back and forth, refusing to take his uncle’s advice.

“Eliza! It’s Eliza! She’s hurt!”

She couldn’t really see Jamie from her hiding spot but Claire could almost feel his change in mood through the air. His voice was much more urgent now, on the edge of panic even.

“What!?! Hurt? Where is she?”

“She’s at the tavern, The World’s End! Ye must come wit me now!”

“Iffrin!” Jamie cursed and Claire could hear his heavy footsteps on the stairs now. “What is she even doin’ there?”

“I dinna ken, Uncle! But we have to go, now!” 

Jamie nodded and he continued rushing down the steps and ran down the street without another word.

Claire stepped out from behind the stairs just in time to catch the first glimpse of her former husband in twenty years. It was only his back, his beautiful red hair was still long but was tied up neatly. He wore much nicer clothes than the last time she saw him. 

She watched him fly down the road with his nephew, who she assumed was named after his father, Jamie’s best friend and brother in law, following closely behind him. She slowly followed them, making sure that she was well behind them, in case they were to turn around. She suddenly felt an odd sense of foreboding, like she was missing some pertinent information.

Like who the bloody hell was Eliza?  
—————-

As Jamie arrived at the World’s End, he stopped at the door. Through all of his panic, he was still able to register that something very odd was happening. There were normally people layin about the front, and ye could hear shouting and yelling coming from inside at all hours of the day. But as he put his ear up to the door, he heard nothing but silence. He peeked through the windows and only saw darkness. He took a deep breath, trying to somehow prepare himself for what nightmare could be on the other side of the door.

The moment he walked over the threshold, the windows were blown open, sending light throughout the building. He barely registered the large mass of people standing in front of him when they shouted “Suprise!”

He staggered back as his arms were suddenly full as a woman threw herself at him. It took a few moments to gain his senses back as he looked down at his beautiful wife smiling up at him. He blinked.

“Buffy? Yer no hurt?”

He kept one arm around her to keep her against him and then ran his other hand along the side of her head down to her arms, looking for injuries. 

She smiled at him guiltily, “No, no, I’m sorry that I made Young Ian lie to you, my love. But it was the only way I knew how to get you over here as quick as possible.”

“Buffy, what is goin on? Why did ye need me over here? What are all these people doin here?” Jamie demanded answers, still feeling the adrenaline inside of him.

“It’s a surprise party, silly!” She leaned in closer to his ear to whisper to him, “I don’t think they do this yet in your time, but in my time surprise birthday parties are all the rage. It’s where you plan a party in secret to show someone how much you care.”

“Buffy, I...I-“ 

“I know! I know! You don’t like to celebrate your birthday, but I, for one am VERY happy that you were born and I intend to celebrate that.”

He looked at her in disbelief, his heart growing even bigger with his love for her.

“Mo maise, I...I dinna ken what to say.”

She smiled. “Don’t say anything. Come see whose here! You’ll never believe it.”

She jumped down from his embrace and grabbed his hand to lead him into the crowd. While Buffy was explaining things to Jamie, the guests had helped themselves to drinks and were all chatting jovially. 

As Jamie walked further into the tavern, he was finally able to make out the grinning faces of his friends. Fergus was there, of course, along with Leslie and Hays and a few other former prison mates. He also saw a new companion of theirs, Mr Willoughby, who looked like he was well on his way to making a drunken scene.

It was a common occurrence with the Chinese stowaway that Buffy had encountered on the docks a few months before. His real name was Yi Tien Cho, but Jamie had suggested a new name since his real one sounded like a curse word in Gaelic. He was a bit of a pervert when he got a hold of too much drink, but he was a good man at heart. He practically worshipped Buffy since she saved him from starvation and truly changed his life by taking him under her wing. He was willing to do anything for her and Jamie, respectively.

He nodded at Willoughby as he walked by, deciding to let the man have a little fun until it became a problem, of course. Jamie said hello to everyone as he went by, but his eyes widened when Buffy pulled him to a stop in front of a very familiar, petite brunette woman smiling at him widely.

“JENNY?”

His sister hugged him tightly and wished him a happy birthday in his ear. As she pulled back, Jamie finally noticed Ian standing next to her, smiling smugly at the look on Jamie’s face. 

“Am I dreamin? I dinna think I’ve ever seen ye outside the walls of Lallybroch, sister!” Jamie exclaimed, his shock was starting to wear off a bit, allowing him to form full sentences again.

She poked him in the chest. “Oh, shush bráthair. I’ve left Lallybroch plenty of times.”

Jamie raised his eyebrow at her in disbelief. She then frowned slightly, trying to remember the last time she had left home.

“Well, I admit I havena been this far from home...ever.” She said begrudgingly.

“And ye came all the way here?? Just fer my birthday?”

“I havena seen ye in almost a year, Jamie! And though I dinna like being this far from home, your lovely wife can be mighty persuasive.” She looked pointedly at said wife as she spoke.

Jamie looked over at Buffy who was grinning triumphantly. “Is that so?”

She shrugged and looked at him with her big doe eyes, looking as innocent as possible. “I don’t know what she’s talking about.”

“Don’t let her face fool you. I do know what she’s talking about and I can confirm that your wife can be quite convincing, although I’m not sure about the lovely part.” An amused Lord John said as he approached the birthday boy from behind.

“John! I thought ye were on yer way to Jamaica!!” Jamie exclaimed as he clasped John’s shoulder in greeting, genuinely happy to see the other man.

“Yes, well, as I said, your wife was a bit persuasive if not downright demanding that I attend your soirée tonight, which I am honored to be here of course! Although I am afraid I will have to cut out a bit early, but I knew that our Lady Eliza here wouldn’t let me hear the end of it if I didn’t make an appearance. “

Buffy smiled and threw her arms around John, “Oh. Johnny! You know that you missed me terribly even if you don’t want to admit it.”

He laughed and hugged her tightly. “It HAS been far too long since the last time we saw each other, my dear.”

Jamie smiled at the two best friends. He didn’t only consider John a dear friend now, but he also knew how very important he was to Buffy and how happy his visits made her. He knew that their relationship may look a bit odd to an outsider, maybe even inappropriate but he didn’t care. 

After Buffy and Jamie made their rounds to say hello to everyone, they sat down to a somewhat informal dinner. Everyone was having their own little conversations throughout the tavern. Jamie sat on one end of the table as the guest of honor, he was sitting happily next to Jenny and Ian, while Buffy sat at the other end, next to John so that they could catch up as well. 

When everyone was almost done with their dinner, Buffy suddenly heard a ringing sound. 

*Ting, Ting, Ting* 

She looked away from John and down the table, towards her husband, who was banging his fork against his glass of whiskey. He winked at her as he stood up, silence fell on the group as he started talking.

“Och! Sorry to interrupt everyone, but I just wanted to say....Thank ye all fer comin’! Ye dinna ken what it means to me to have ye all here. Every single one of ye.” He glanced down at Jenny, smiling, he then held up his glass. “And also a toast, to my lovely wife. She is the true light in my life and I wouldna have ye all in it if it wasn’t fer her. I honestly dinna ken where I would be without her.”

“Probably fat and sad, Mac Dubh.” Leslie shouted.

“Or dead!” Hayes added as everyone laughed.

Jamie smiled as well, “Aye, that could be verra true, but I hope to never find out. Here’s to her and all of ye. Slainte Mhath. Slainte Mhor!” 

“Slainte!” Everyone shouted back as they took a drink, including Buffy, who had tears in her eyes. She was incredibly grateful for not only her husband, but every person in the room. She watched everyone around her smiling and laughing, she sighed happily and continued eating, feeling truly blessed.

—————————————————————-

As the festivities were going on inside, Claire was watching from the front window of the tavern. She felt her heart break as she watched the gorgeous blonde, who had to have been very close Brianna’s age, jump into his arms as if she did it everyday. She continued to watch them throughout the night. She couldn’t hear very well from her position outside, but she did manage to catch the word ‘wife’ in Jamie’s speech.

Of course he was married, she should have known a man like him would have young blondes throwing themselves at him everyday. She had just hoped that he wouldn’t have fallen for it, that he was still in love with her like she was with him. She suddenly felt short of breath as she watched him walk up to the tiny blonde woman, girl really, and kiss her passionately. 

She turned away as she felt her stomach churn. She wasn’t sure where she should go now. She didn’t exactly have a back up plan even though she should have.

She ran around the building, to the back where there was a little patio set up. Thankfully, it was empty, giving her time and space to figure out her next move. She knew that she couldn’t see him now. He had obviously moved on and seemed genuinely happy, even more so than when they were together. Tears came to her eyes at that thought, just as she was about to have a complete breakdown she heard a door slam and a woman giggling.

She ducked behind a large garbage bin as she saw Jamie barging outside, pulling the blonde along with him.

—————————————————

Buffy laughed as Jamie grabbed her hand and pulled her outside with him. When he was sure that no one else was outside he turned to her and lifted her up into his arms, holding her by her ass.

“James! What are-“ she was silenced when he kissed her fiercely. She wrapped her legs around his waist, automatically melting into him like usual.

“I take it this means you like your party.” She whispered as they pulled back for air.

He nodded and pressed his forehead onto hers. “Oh, aye, verra, verra much....Buffy....no one has ever done anything like this fer me before. I dinna ken how to thank ye.”

She smiled at him, “Ye deserve it, James. And you don’t have to thank me. The smile that’s been on your face all night is payment enough.”

Said smile managed to somehow grow even bigger, “Oh, really? Are ye sure?”

Buffy looked at him, confused, “What do ye mean?”

He carried her to a table that was set up nearby and placed her on top of it and then slowly got down on his knees and started lifting up her skirts, one by one.

She gasped, “James! What are you doing?”

“I’m thankin’ my wife properly.” He rolled his Rs deliberately longer than usual, knowing that it drove her wild. She unconsciously spread her legs, giving him easier access even as she spoke, “But...but anyone could walk out here. They could hear us!”

“Then ye better be quiet, mo maise.” He then buried his face between her warm thighs, finding the treasure he was looking for.

Buffy leaned back on the table as her husband gratefully ravished her. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to stay quiet under his wicked ministrations, but she was starting not to care anymore. Just as she was almost at her peak, a loud crashing sound and a whimper pierced the silent night sky.

She lifted her head and pushed at Jamie’s shoulders to get his attention.

“James! Stop! Did you hear that?”

His head popped up from her massive layers of skirts, looking disturbed by the interruption

“Aye, wasna that ye?” He said, impatiently. 

She shook her head no, “It came from over there, by those garbage bins. I think there’s a person.”

He sighed reluctantly and pulled away from her ,letting her skirts fall back in place. He stood up and turned to the spot in question. He quietly walked towards the garbage bin, knowing that Buffy was automatically following him.

“Hello? Is someone there?” He asked as they were about six feet away. He turned to Buffy when he didn’t hear a response or see any movement.

“I dinna think anyone’s there, Buff. Come on, we should go back in.” 

She shook her head, she knew someone was there, she could hear them breathing even though Jamie couldn’t.

“I know somebody’s there! You better come out before I make you come out, you perv! “ she threatened as she started pulling out Mr Pointy Two. Jamie stood nearby, knowing that his wife’s senses were far superior than his and if she thought someone was there, they probably were. When nothing happened she moved closer, “Alright, I warned you.”

Just as Buffy went to pull the bin away, a woman walked out, holding her hands up in surrender.

“I’m sorry. I didnt mean to...I’m sorry.” She said in a British accent. She was much older than Buffy and was dressed in a proper blue dress, one that people in London would wear, she noted. She was pretty with beautiful amber eyes that Buffy noticed were looking behind her, at her husband.

Just as she turned to him she heard him gasp and saw all of the color drain from his face.

“Claire?” He said just as his eyes started to roll in the back of his head. Buffy went to him quickly and caught him before he fell. She slowly guided him down to the ground and cradled his head in her lap. He was unconscious, but Buffy wasn’t too worried since he didn’t hit his head.

Her heart clenched painfully at what he said before he fainted. She looked back over at the woman, Claire. She was watching them with wide eyes, looking like she wanted to go to Jamie, but she wisely chose to stay where she was. Buffy didn’t think she could handle being any closer to her at that moment. As she watched Claire, Jamie started to quickly stir in her lap.

“James, are you alright?” Jamie groaned and opened his eyes to look up at her. “Aye, I dinna ken what happened. I thought that I saw-“ he pushed himself up and turned towards the last place he saw Claire, their eyes locked. “Claire.”

She smiled shyly at him, “Hi.” 

He shook his head back and forth, trying to process what was happening. Buffy looked between the two and felt nauseous as she felt the chemistry between them. She tried to slowly back away from them, not wanting to be present for this reunion. But the moment she made a step back, Jamie grabbed her hand and squeezed it, keeping her close. She looked up at him to see that he was still staring at Claire though. Just as Buffy was going to pull away, the door of the tavern slammed open.

“I ken ye two are out here! Ye better make yerselves decent before Jenny finds ye!” Ian’s voiced shouted. He had a hand covering his eyes and he blindly walked across the yard. 

When he didn’t hear anything he opened his eyes and slowly took in the scene in front of him. “Claire?!?” Ian questioned as he got closer. Claire nodded, just as she was about to say something the door opened again, a high pitched voice shouted this time.

“Alright ye two! Ye have guests! Ye canna just go sneakin’ off like a couple of teenagers whenever ye two-“ she trailed off as her eyes landed on Claire.

“Claire!?” Jenny walked closer to them, looking just as shocked as the rest of them. She slowly approached Claire, “Is it really ye?” She asked quietly.

Claire nodded, the tears coming back to her eyes, “Yes, Jenny, it’s me.”

Jenny nodded and then before anybody could react she had reached up and slapped Claire straight across the face. The violence finally brought Jamie out of his stupor. He ran to the pair and grabbed Jenny’s arm pulling her away. “What the hell are ye doin’, Janet???” He hissed at her.

Jenny shoved him back, “She shouldna be here bráthair! Last ye heard, she was dead and now what? She’s come back after all these years?? To what? To take away yer happiness that ye finally found??” She turned back to Claire then. “I dinna ken why ye’re here but ye need to leave! He’s finally happy now, he doesna need ye anymore.” 

“Thats enough, Janet! Ye will no speak to her like that!”

“I will do what I damn well please, brother!” She somehow managed to get out of Jamie’s strong grip and ran back over to Claire, who was still holding her burning cheek. Just as Jenny looked like she was about to strike her again, a dainty hand that was much stronger than it looked, lashed out and grabbed her arm, stopping her.

“Don’t.” Buffy said as she turned Jenny around to look at her.

“But! But she shouldna be here, she-“

“PLEASE Jenny, no more. It isn’t your business.”

“But-“

“Please! Come back inside. I’m sure these two need some time alone and I need help getting rid of the guests. Please, sister.”

Jenny’s heart melted at Buffy’s plea, touched by the endearment. She slowly nodded and wrapped her arms around her shoulders and started walking back to the tavern, Ian was following closely behind. Jenny stopped halfway and turned back to Claire, she glared at her angrily, but managed to miraculously hold her tongue, feeling that saying anything else would only hurt Buffy.

Buffy could feel Jamie’s eyes on her back, but she couldn’t make herself stop to look at him, she knew that she would fall apart instantly at the sight of him and Claire standing together. 

As they made their way inside, the party was still in full swing, no one having any idea what was going on outside. Jenny looked at Buffy who she could now see was looking a bit green in the face.

“Eliza, are ye alright?”

Buffy nodded slowly, “Yes, I just... I need a minute, can you please start seeing what you can do about the guests?”

Jenny nodded back, “Of course, take all the time ye need....it’ll be alright Eliza, he loves ye and ye make him happy, more than Claire ever could.”

Buffy nodded, feeling like she was going to throw up at any second. She made her way to the back halls of the tavern, trying to hold herself together as she walked past everyone. As soon as the coast was clear, she fell down to her knees, a racking sob escaped her throat uncontrollably. She wasn’t sure how long she sat there crying before she was interrupted by the voice of her best friend.

“Eliza? Oh! There you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere, my dear! I was just going to-“ he stopped talking when he finally got a good look at her tear stained face. “Eliza! What is it? What’s wrong?” He crouched down next to her wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulder. 

She looked up at him, sniffling pitifully. “Oh, Johnny. I can’t.... I can’t be here anymore, can we go? Please, Johnny! I need to get out of here.” she pleaded with him.

His heart clenched at her words. He had known her for a long time, had been in many stressful situations with her, but he had never heard her sound so...broken. He slowly nodded and helped her up, keeping his arm around her. 

He guided her outside, to his carriage that was waiting for him to make his leave to the ship tonight. He told the confused driver to take them to the inn that he was staying at and gathered Buffy into his arms as she started quietly sobbing again into his shoulder. He didn’t know what just happened, but he knew that whatever it was, he wouldn’t abandon her, not again.


	18. Chapter 18

“Claire?”

Jamie felt light headed as he recognized the woman that came out from behind the bin. His legs and arms started to feel heavy and his fingertips became numb. Then the earth abruptly disappeared from under his feet.

The next thing he knew, he was lying on the ground with his head in Buffy’s lap. She was looking down at him with worry. He must have had more drink than he thought because for a moment he swore he saw his first wife standing before him. 

He shook his head and slowly brought himself up to stand and bewilderingly locked eyes with Claire once more. He felt his body go into shock all over again but he was able to keep himself up right this time. 

He observed as Ian came outside and then Jenny. He felt like he was out of his body watching everything happen in slow motion. It wasn’t until Jenny slapped Claire that he was finally able to come back to himself. He stepped forward and grabbed Jenny, berating her for striking Claire, but she had shoved him back and managed to slip past him and tried to hit her again.

Before he could move to grab her, Buffy had stepped in. He watched her catch Jenny and impressively convince her to back off. He felt his heart jump into his throat as he watched Buffy walk away with Jenny and Ian. He fought every instinct inside of him screaming out to follow her. His heart ached as he couldn’t imagine how she must feel at the moment, he honestly had no idea how he was feeling.

He turned back to Claire, finding her staring at him. He took in the sight of her, something that he thought he would never see again. She looked almost the same, he could see a few signs of aging on her face, but she was just as beautiful as the day he met her. He then noticed the red mark on her cheek.

“I’m so sorry about Jenny.” He said as he reached his hand out to touch her face, he stopped himself before he actually made contact with her skin. It was something that seemed so natural for him to do twenty years ago, but now it didn’t quite feel right.

Claire watched him pull back from her and she wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and die. After she had witnessed Jamie dragging his new wife outside and start pleasuring her, Claire felt her heart being torn in half and had tried to run as far away from there as possible. But she had tripped and fell, alerting the couple to her presence. To say she was mortified was an understatement. Then Jenny shockingly slapping her was just the icing on top of her quickly falling apart cake.

“It’s alright. I most likely deserved it.” She responded quietly, looking away from him.

“Claire.” He said in a tone of disapproval. “Ye didna deserve that. Ye ken Jenny, she canna control her temper. I truly am sorry that I couldna stop her.”

Claire nodded and then swallowed harshly, “That girl, who stopped her, she’s your wife?” She knew the answer, but for some reason she really couldn’t stop torturing herself tonight. 

He only nodded with an unreadable expression. Damn! She had almost forgotten his poker face. 

“She’s beautiful.” Claire said, again, she had no idea why out of all of the things she wanted to say to him, this is what was coming out of her mouth.

He nodded again, “Aye, she is.” He said softly, still not giving her any sign of what he was thinking.

“She’s a bit young.”

That did it. 

“Claire. I ken that ye dinna come all the way here to judge me and my wife, who just stood up fer ye by the way.” He said almost in a hurt voice rather than a harsh one.

She ducked her head, embarrassed yet again. Why didn’t she just run when she saw them in the tavern together. She could have went back to Iverness and gone through the stones and he would have been none the wiser. He could have gone on living his perfect life with no interruptions and she could have been back in Boston alone and miserable, unable to get the picture of them out of her mind. That was if she even survived the trip again, this last time was almost unbearable, the pain she felt seemed to have left her unconscious for hours. But with how the night was going, Claire had a feeling that she was going to find out if she could survive the trip again or not.

“No, I didn’t...I’m sorry, Jamie. This isn’t exactly what I was expecting.” She said quietly.

He nodded sympathetically, “No... No, I supposed ye wouldna.”

“I mean to say....I knew...when I decided to come back, that you would have had a life. I just...I think this was a mistake.” She looked down again, feeling devastated.

“Claire.” He grabbed her hand then, his fingers automatically reaching for the silver ring he had put there all those years ago. He looked up at her with wide eyes, surprised that she was still wearing it. 

“I never took it off.” She said quietly.

Their eyes locked, both feeling the same connection they had always felt when they were together. After a few moments, Jamie turned away, feeling extremely guilty suddenly. He just had Buffy in his arms minutes before and now he was touching Claire like he still had a right to. He was so confused, he was starting to get a splitting headache from all of the ups and downs from the day.

Without warning, a thought popped into his head, he turned to Claire.

“Our child?”

For the first time that night, a small smile graced Claire’s face. She nodded and started to reach into one of her many pockets.

“Yes, we had a daughter, I thought that you would...”

“Milord! There ye are! What’s goin’ on? Aunt Jenny said everyone should leave, but the night is so young still.”

Claire looked over to the man who interrupted them, there was something VERY familiar about him. Wait, did he just call Jamie-

“Fergus! It’s alright, I actually-“

“Fergus??” Claire’s eyes grew wide with the realization that this handsome man was the same little boy she raised in France.

His eyes grew wide as well, “Milady?” He then smiled and pulled her into a hug, very pleased to see her. As they pulled back, Claire grabbed both of his hands and felt the wooden glove where his real hand should be. She looked up at his face in question.

“Fergus? What happened?”

He simply smiled, “I lost it, fighting the redcoats, milady.”

“Quite bravely.” Jamie added, standing beside them.

Claire nodded, still in shock over his missing hand. Fergus then looked at Jamie with confusion.

“Wait. If ye’re here with milady, then where is Eliza?”

“She’s inside, Fergus.”

Fergus shook his head, “No, she is not, Milord. I’ve just searched that whole tavern for the both of you, she is nowhere in sight. I assumed she was with you.”

Among all of the conflicting feelings that Jamie was experiencing, panic started to take ahold of him, above everything else. He had felt Buffy try to pull away from him after Claire showed up and she hadn’t even looked back when she walked away. His world was not the only one that just got turned upside down, he thought.

He knew that she must be upset and just as confused as he was but he didn’t think that she would just leave without saying anything.

“Come on, let’s look again.”

He tugged on Claire’s hand and started marching inside, not giving her a chance to try to run away, which was exactly what she wanted to do at the moment. 

The three of them searched all over with no luck. Jamie questioned Jenny but she said that she had left her in the parlor to gather herself because she did not look well. Jamie’s heart clenched at that. He then turned to Claire.

“I think she may have gone home. Will ye come with me to check?”

“Oh, Jamie. I...I don’t think that’s a good idea. I think I should-“

“Please, Claire.” He said simply, his eyes pleading with hers. 

She nodded reluctantly, wondering how much worse things could get.

—————————————

After an awkward twenty minute ride with Claire sitting in front of Jamie on his horse, he stopped at a little cottage that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. They hadn’t spoken since the tavern, Jamie was too worried about Buffy and Claire was thinking about how she was going to get back to the stones.

Jamie jumped down first, then quickly helped Claire down and before she could say anything he ran inside.

Claire stood in front of the tiny house, Jamie’s home. His home with another woman. Her stomach clenched painfully. She pushed her shoulders back, preparing herself and slowly walked inside, following Jamie’s trail.

Although the house was tiny, it was cozy. There was a huge couch and chair in the living room, which looked like it did a lot of entertaining. There was a tiny desk in the corner filled with papers covered in Jamie’s messy handwriting. She could also make out someone else’s handwriting, much more feminine and neat. She turned away from that and walked into the kitchen.

There were some dishes on the counters but it was clean besides that. Claire also noticed a blade sitting out. It was small and had a gold handle with an intricate design carved into it, peppered with tiny rubies and gems. There was also the number three sketched into it. It was beautiful and quite expensive looking. Jamie probably had it made for his new wife, but why on earth would he have spent so much money on a blade of all things, for a woman.

“She’s no here.”

Jamie’s voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked up at him, feeling guilty for the worry marring his handsome face.

“Oh, Jamie. This is all my fault! If I hadn’t of shown up-“

“It’s alright, Claire. I dinna blame ye. Ye couldna have known.” He stepped closer to her, then gently grabbed her hand. “I have to go find her, there are a few places I ken to look, but there’s somethin’ I need ye to do fer me.”

“What?”

“I need ye to promise that ye’ll stay here until I get back.”

Her eyes widened, “Jamie, I don’t think that I should-“

“I ken that now ye have seen that I’m married, ye want to run away to the stones, but...Ye came all this way and I AM happy to see ye Claire, truly. And I want to talk to ye, I want to find out about my...my daughter.....I just have to find Eliza first.” He said with some difficulty.

Claire’s swallowed harshly. Of course he knew what she was thinking, damn her glass face. She knew that she could promise him that she’d stay and then still leave anyways. The thought of having to be in the same room with Jamie and his new wife was intolerable at the moment. But she did cause him all of this trouble, she couldn’t just leave after that, she owed it to him to stay.

She nodded. “I promise.”

He smiled tightly. “Good, I shouldna be long. Make yerself at home, ye could sleep if ye want, I ken ye must be tired from traveling.”

She nodded and with that he was out the door, leaving Claire alone.

————————————————  
After Jamie had left, Claire was surprised how tired she actually did feel after all of the excitement of the night started wearing off. She glanced into the bedroom, at the bed, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach at what must happen in there. Quite often probably, with the way Jamie was pawing at his new wife earlier. 

Claire turned away from it and opted to crawl onto the couch, grabbing a blanket that was draped across the back of it. She was out before her head even hit the pillow.

————————————————-  
Claire wasn’t sure how long she was asleep before she was awoken by a loud banging sound. She opened her eyes and looked around the room that was slowly being filled by the early morning light from sunrise. She slowly stood up and then she heard the noise again, coming from the bedroom. 

“Jamie?” She asked as she started walking towards the room. Her eyes widened as a large man, who was certainly not Jamie, came storming out with a feral grin. 

Claire staggered back in surprise, “Who are you?”

“That’s none of your concern.” The bald man said as he stalked towards her.

“You need to leave.” She said, hoping she sounded more brave than she felt in the moment.

“I dinna answer to...a woman. And I will leave as soon I find what I’m looking fer. Now get on the couch and stay there.”

Claire’s heart started to race in fear. “I...I think there’s been some mistake, I don’t even live here, but my husband-“

“Yer husband? Ye are no Mistress Malcolm.” The man said suspiciously. 

“Well, no, I am not, but I was...I.....it doesna matter. Ye need to leave!” She said again.

“Oh, yer his mistress. Ye ken, I didna think he was the type. I’m surprised, with the wife he’s got, ye dinna think he could handle another one. Ye must be a real good fuck then.” The man came closer, his mouth practically drooling as he looked up and down her body.

Claire felt completely helpless, she had only been back less than three days and she was already going to be raped. She tried to back away from him, but the couch was right behind her and she fell back onto it clumsily.

The man grinned lecherously. “Since ye willna ken where Malcolm’s ledgers are, ye shall at least be useful in another way.” 

As he started unbuckling his belt, Claire whimpered. Just as the man went to grab her leg, a voice, a woman’s voice came from behind them.

“Touch her and I will cut off your hand and shove it so far up your ass, it will come out of your disgusting mouth.” 

The man turned around in surprise, shocked at the words this woman dared to speak to him.

“Is that so?”

Claire watched from her position on the couch as Buffy nodded slowly. Claire could see her holding the fancy dagger that was on the counter the night before.

“Ye shouldna speak to a man like that. I will teach you a lesson.”

Buffy smiled predatorily. “And I will teach you not to barge into MY house, uninvited and not to treat women like their some disgusting object to please you. Although I’m sure that force is the only way you can get a woman.”

The man growled and threw himself at her. Buffy dodged him and slashed his arm with the blade. The man howled out in pain and then furiously dove at Buffy again. She wasn’t expecting a man his size to move so fast, he managed to grab her by the throat and pin her against the wall, making her drop Mr Pointy Three, a wedding anniversary gift from Jamie. 

Her eyes widened as the man’s hold blocked off her windpipe, it was becoming painfully hard for her to breathe. She gripped both of his arms, digging her nails into his skin, but she couldn’t get the right leverage to get away.

“Eliza!!!” Jamie’s voice in the doorway surprised everyone. As the man turned to him, his grip on Buffy slackened. She quickly turned back to the man and brought her elbow up, hitting him in the chin again and again until he grunted and let go of her. She slid down the wall, gasping for much needed air, gripping her sore and damaged throat. 

Jamie grabbed the man and punched him in the face, surprising him. He then shoved him against the wall. He looked around the room, seeing Fergus arriving at the door.

“Fergus! I need some rope to tie him up! Quickly!”

Fergus took in the chaotic sight before him and then quickly grabbed some rope that was sitting on the porch. He ran over to Jamie and helped him secure the large, struggling man.

Once they had him tied up, Jamie strapped him against the chair in the corner. He also shoved a rag into the man’s mouth to keep him from shouting out. He instructed Fergus to keep an eye on him and then ran over to Buffy, who was still sitting against the wall, holding her throat.

“Mo bhan-dia òir! Christ! Are ye alright?” He kneeled next to her and lifted her chin gently, caressing her cheek as well.

She nodded feebly, “Claire!” She croaked out, “Check...on....Claire.” Jamie’s eyes widened at how hoarse and weak her voice was. He hesitated, still very worried about her, but he did need to check on Claire as well. He kissed the top of his current wife’s head and then turned towards his first wife.

“Claire, are ye alright?” 

Claire slowly nodded and finally rose from the couch. She was too shocked to move when Jamie’s new wife came in and confronted her attacker. She had never heard a woman talk like that, not one from this century anyways.

“Ye’re sure ye were no hurt?” Jamie questioned as he visually looked her over for any wounds.

She shook her head, “No, I’m not hurt. He... he didn’t have a chance to...because of...” she trailed off, looking at Jamie’s new wife, whose gasps for air were starting to become quieter and more controlled. She could see the bruises already forming on her neck. The doctor in her wanted to examine her, make sure the man didn’t cause any permanent damage to her savior. 

Just as Claire was going to cautiously approach Jamie’s new wife, a new man entered the tiny house. Claire thought she may have recognized him from Jamie’s party.

“Good Lord!” The man exclaimed in an English accent as he made a beeline for Buffy. He kneeled down before her in the same way her husband had seconds before.

“I left you alone for five minutes, Eliza! Five minutes!”

“You know me, Johnny. Never a dull moment.” She rasped out the words and then grimaced at the pain they caused in her throat, causing her to cough harshly.

Jamie saw her grimace and went back to her and kneeled on her other side.

“John, can ye please get her a glass of water?” 

“Of course.” John got up and made his way into the kitchen, knowing his way around, having been there a few times before.

“Are ye sure ye’re alright, mo maise?” Jamie asked Buffy again.

She nodded looking down, avoiding eye contact with him, “Yes, he just....surprised me, is all. I should have been able to take him.” She said the last thing, more to herself. 

Jamie cupped her cheek and slowly raised her head up, forcing her to look at him. “Ye did well, mo bhan-dia òir. Verra well.”

Buffy desperately wanted James to take her into his arms and make her forget everything that had happened that night. She grabbed the hand that was holding her face and leaned into it, closing her eyes. Jamie leaned down and pressed his forehead onto hers. He was so wrapped up in Buffy’s presence, he almost forgot about their current company. Almost.

John’s awkward cough interrupted their sweet moment. 

“Sorry, here.” He handed the water to Buffy. She took it gratefully and took a small sip, feeling her throat burn slightly at the liquid.

“Thank you, Johnny.” He nodded at her and then looked over at Fergus, who was still keeping guard of the large man. He had seemed to have given up trying to escape his bonds for the moment and was glaring at everyone in the room intermittently.

“Do I even want to know who that is?” John asked the room, in general.

Buffy shrugged, “I have no idea, he was attacking....Claire when I walked in.”

“Claire?” John looked at the woman in question, surprised at the familiar name. “Claire as in Jamie’s dead wife, Claire? But....but-“

Buffy simply nodded at John’s confusion while Jamie blanched at his words.

“If we could focus on the man who broke into our home, please. I’d like to ken why he was here in the first place.”

“Ledgers.” 

Everyone in the room turned to Claire when she spoke. She had remained quiet after Jamie checked on her, feeling very much like the sassenach, that Jamie used to call her. The group had seemed so familiar with each other, acting like they dealt with this kind of trouble all of the time.

“He said he was looking for Jamie’s ledgers.”

Fergus started digging into the man’s pockets while he grunted and tried to shake Fergus off to no avail, he pulled out a card. “John Barton.” It read.

“An excise man.” Jamie said.

“This is not good, Milord!” Fergus exclaimed.

“Why on earth would an excise man be looking for your ledgers, Jamie?” John asked. He didn’t know exactly what Eliza and Jamie did for extra income, but he knew it wasn’t what one would call legal. Eliza had made sure to keep him out of the loop, not wanting him to be implicated if they were ever caught. 

“Sir Percival.” Jamie said.

“Crap!” Buffy said, “I guess he didn’t believe us when we met with him the other day.”

“No, he certainly did not. He must have employed this man to find out where we’ve been keeping...things.” He tried to censor himself in front of his mixed company, not wanting John to find out anything more than necessary, in case it could get him in trouble.

“So this man is a crooked agent of the crown.” Fergus said.

“Aye and Sir Percival will come lookin’ fer him when he doesna return.”

The room fell into an uncomfortable silence. Fergus cleared his throat, “So, Milord....What do we do now?”

At Fergus’ question, Jamie found himself looking back and forth between his two wives, “I dinna ken, bhalaich, I dinna ken.”


End file.
